State Department Releases Proposed Rule on AUKUS ITAR Exemption

The State Department on April 30 released proposed regulations to implement an exemption from International Traffic in Arms Regulations licensing requirements for Australia and the U.K. under the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) Enhanced Trilateral Security Partnership.

The proposed rule, issued “in the interest of preparing” for a potential determination under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 that Australia and the U.K. have comparable export control systems to the U.S., includes a preliminary list of defense articles and services excluded from eligibility for the new exemption.

It also adds to the scope of the exemption for “intra-company, intra-organization, and intragovernmental transfers to allow for the transfer of classified defense articles to certain dual nationals who are authorized users or regular employees of an authorized user within the United Kingdom and Australia,” and would set new expedited license review procedures for Australia, the U.K. and Canada. Comments are due May 31.