United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1998-06-10 monographic deposited born digital 17 p. GA 1.13:T-NSIAD-98-208 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-98-208 P0b002ee18037603c f:ns98208t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-98-208 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-98-208 T-NSIAD-98-208 Export regulation Interagency relations Licenses Technology transfer Communication satellites Jurisdictional authority International trade restriction Foreign trade policies Dual-use technologies Testimony NSIAD GAO discussed the military sensitivity of commercial communications satellites and the implications of the 1996 change in export licensing jurisdiction, focusing on: (1) key elements in the export control systems of the Departments of Commerce and State; (2) how export controls for commercial satellites have evolved over the years; (3) concerns and issues debated over the transfer of commercial communications satellites to the export licensing jurisdiction of Commerce; (4) safeguards that may be applied to commercial satellite exports; and (5) observations on the current export control system.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) the U.S. export control system--comprised of both the Commerce and State systems--is about managing risk; (2) exports to some countries involve less risk than to other countries and exports of some items involve less risk than others; (3) the planning of a satellite launch with technical discussions and exchanges of information taking place over several months, involves risk no matter which agency is the licensing authority; (4) recently, events have focused concern on the appropriateness of Commerce jurisdiction over communication satellites; (5) this is a difficult judgment; (6) by design, Commerce's system gives greater weight to economic and commercial concerns, implicitly accepting greater security risks; (7) by design, State's system gives primacy to national security and foreign policy concerns, lessening--but not eliminating--the risk of damage to U.S. national security interests; (8) the addition of new controls over satellites transferred to Commerce's jurisdiction in 1996 addressed some of the key areas where the Commerce procedures are less stringent than those of State; (9) there remain, however, differences in how the export of satellites is controlled under these new procedures; (10) Congress notification requirements no longer apply; (11) sanctions do not always apply to items under Commerce's jurisdiction; (12) the Department of Defense's power to influence the decisionmaking process has diminished since the transfer; (13) technical information may not be as clearly controlled under the Commerce system; and (14) the additional controls applied to the militarily sensitive commercial communications satellites transferred to Commerce's control in 1996 were not applied to the satellites transferred in 1993. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-98-208/html/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-98-208.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-98-208/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-98-208.pdf GAO/T-NSIAD-98-208 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-NSIAD-98-208 Testimony GAO/T-NSIAD-98-208; Export Controls: Issues Related to Commercial Communications Satellites; Export regulation Interagency relations Licenses Technology transfer Communication satellites Jurisdictional authority International trade restriction Foreign trade policies Dual-use technologies Public Law 101-246