Why are we still talking about the ITAR?
- Paper number
IAC-09.E5.1.6
- Author
Mr. Karl Abendschein, Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, L.L.P., United States
- Year
2009
- Abstract
Despite significant pressure for reform and movement towards procedural relief, the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”), 22 C.F.R. \S\S 120 – 130, remain a significant impediment to the free flow of technology in civil space programs and commercial space ventures involving the United States and/or U.S.-origin space commodities. These burdensome rules, which control the transfer of military commodities and technology, apply to the involvement of commercial contractors in government-to-government civil space programs and participants in commercial space ventures. The evidence is mounting that the continued application of the ITAR to civil space programs and commercial space ventures risks stifling the innovation of space related technologies in the United States and could impede the ambitious goals set forth by the United States and other nations to return to the moon and then move towards the human exploration of other celestial bodies. This paper examines the application of the ITAR to civil space programs and commercial space ventures with the aim of providing the reader with: (i) a basic introduction to the rules as applicable to the space industry; (ii) an understanding of the impact that the ITAR have on international civil space programs and commercial space ventures; (iii) insight into recent reforms by the U.S. Government and the prospects for further reform; and (iv) several practical suggestions for navigating the ITAR. The purpose of this paper is not to focus solely on the gloom and doom surrounding the ITAR but rather to provide a realistic picture of its impact and the prospects for reform. In addition, given that the space community is likely stuck with the ITAR for some time, I will demonstrate that navigating the ITAR maze can be manageable.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)