It’s not often that policymakers have a chance to boost U.S. economic competitiveness and national security at the same time, but the export control reforms announced by President Obama today will do just that.

The initiative’s four key steps will help create a flexible system to control the export of sensitive and commercially available items: a tiered list of products subject to controls that clearly differentiates between military and commercial items; a single set of licensing policies; an enforcement coordination agency; and a single IT system. 

Change is overdue. Our Cold War-era export control regime has not kept up with the changing geopolitical and economic environment. These reforms will strengthen national security by focusing on the most critical technologies -- what Defense Secretary Gates refers to as the “crown jewels” of American military and intelligence technologies.

However, when technologies are already widely available from America’s trade competitors -- or are no longer considered cutting edge -- controls make no sense.

U.S. small and mid-sized companies will welcome these reforms because overly complex export controls sometimes deter them from even trying to sell their goods abroad. But the changes also benefit America’s defense and technology industry, which relies on international sales to remain competitive.

A study issued earlier this year by the Milken Institute and the National Association of Manufacturers found that “modernizing U.S. export controls could increase exports in high-value areas. By 2019, these policy adjustments could enhance real GDP by $64.2 billion (0.4 percent), create 160,000 manufacturing jobs, and heighten total employment by 340,000.”

In addition, the Chamber supports ratification of the pending defense trade cooperation treaties with Australia and the United Kingdom, which will strengthen cooperation with two of our closest allies and help sustain our defense industrial base.

The president’s announcement today is good news, and the Chamber is pleased to support this initiative to advance U.S. national security and economic competitiveness at the same time.