Robert S. Kovac

1
Defense Trade
Robert S. Kovac Acting Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State Bureau of Political Military
Affairs
2
Topics

• Mission
• NSPD-56
• Performance
• AS and UK DTCTs
• Issues of Concern

3
Defense Trade Mission

• Advance US national security and foreign policy
  through licensing of direct commercial sales in
  defense articles and the development and
  enforcement of defense trade export control laws,
  regulations and polices.

4
NSPD-56 Defense Trade Reform

• Signed by the President on Jan 22, 2008
• Directed the most far reaching reforms to the
  defense trade process in 16 years
• Mandated specific process and resource
  requirements to support an export control system
  that is transparent, predictable, and timely.

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Policy and Reg Changes

• 60 day license suspense unless specific national
  security concerns apply
• Dual/Third County Nationals (124.16)
• New registration fee structure
• Cat VIII Update
• 123.9(e) change to include NATO organizations
• Foreign Person Hire requirements limited to a
  single license

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Process Improvements

• Weekly 45 and 60-Day Reviews
• Weekly 5 QA Reviews
• Published Operating Procedures
• Performance Metrics
• Increased Outreach
• Updated Guidelines

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Improvement Metrics

• OEF/OIF 80 faster
• Open Cases 66 reduction
• Overall Case Processing 55 faster
• RWA Rate 58 reduction
• CJs 33 faster
• All occurred while the number of cases received
  increased

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License Processing Times
Month and Year Mar '08 Apr '08 May '08 Jun '08 Jul '08 Aug '08 Sep '08 Oct '08 Nov '08 Dec '08 Jan '09 Feb '09 Mar '09
Cases Received 6,947 7,728 6,920 7,063 7,141 6,644 6,419 7,030 5,901 6,271 6,149 6,612 7,241
Cases Closed 7,200 7,438 7,054 6,779 7,144 7,014 6,552 6,814 6,005 6,650 5,755 6,302 7,369
Cases Open at End of Month 3,458 3,720 3,562 3,822 3,783 3,389 3,230 3,438 3,288 2,908 3,265 3,554 3,436
Average Processing Time (in Calendar Days) 15 15 15 15 17 16 16 16 16 16 17 15 15
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NSPD-56 Status Open Tasks

• CJ 60 day process
• DAS Adjudication mechanism
• Fully electronic licensing

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Defense Trade Treaties

• Defense Trade Cooperation Treaties between the
  U.S. and the UK and the U.S. and Australia were
  not ratified by the 110th Congress.
• The Department has been discussing resubmission
  with the Senate.
• Although no decision has been made concerning
  when they will be submitted, they remain a
  Department priority.
• DDTC remains committed to publishing the
  implementation rules for public comment before
  going final.

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Areas of Concern

• Foreign ITAR free products
• Non-governmental ownership
• All or nothing jurisdiction
• Foreign partner involvement with proscribed
  destinations

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In Closing

• Improvements to date have been impressive and
  work will continue
• Improvements will be made in accordance with the
  law
• Once the new team is onboard we will be
  developing the next/new Defense Trade priorities