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Sorry Brits, No Tech Sales to ChiComs, etc.
The UK looks set to lose its five-year battle to win a waiver to strict US arms export controls after being told by Bush administration officials that political opposition on Capitol Hill to the transfer of sensitive technologies has become insurmountable.The US promised five years ago to grant an ITAR waiver to the UK and Australia, and the issue emerged as one of the most contentious bilateral issues between the US and UK since the Iraq war. British government and industry officials have grown increasingly angry in recent months, insisting that an exemption is overdue given the UK's staunch support for the Iraq invasion. Last year, Geoff Hoon, then UK defence minister, sent a strongly worded letter to his American counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld, warning of a "serious blow to US-UK relations" if the promised waiver was not granted. According to government officials, Tony Blair, British prime minister, also raised the issue with George W. Bush during the US president's recent visits to London. The complex ITAR rules force the UK and Australia to wade through an extended approval process in order to get the go-ahead from the State Department for arms purchases, sometimes on mundane weapons parts and components. Currently, only Canada has a waiver from the rules. The Bush administration has repeatedly pushed for the waiver to be passed in Congress but it has been consistently blocked by Henry Hyde, the powerful Republican who chairs the House international relations committee. Mr Hyde has cited the UK's refusal to strengthen its own laws on transferring military technologies to other countries. Last year, Congress agreed to pass a watered-down version of the administration's proposal, which gave UK and Australian export requests expedited status, but fell short of a complete waiver. According to US officials involved in the discussions, talks to find an alternative to the waiver, though not yet official administration policy, began this month. Posted by: Captain America 2005-11-23 |
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