| Fact Sheet Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Washington, DC January 4, 2008 GAO Report on Inefficiencies and Challenges in the Arms Export ProcessThe
Department of State worked closely with the Government Accountability
Office in its review of the arms export licensing process. The
Department largely concurs with the overall GAO recommendations, but
notes that because the GAO study used data available through April
2007, it does not reflect the many steps that have been taken to
improve processes since that time.
Open Cases: The number of pending export license
applications has declined substantially. At the time of the GAO study
the number of cases in process was an unacceptably high 7,500. As of
January 4, 2008 the number of open cases is approximately 4,300, a 43%
reduction. This number has remained below 5,000 since November 2007.
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls receives anywhere from 1,000
to 1,300 new applications per week. Therefore, at any given time there
will be several thousand cases in the review process. Internal Processing: The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has
implemented a procedure where any case over 60 days old must be
reviewed by a Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS). Cases are not allowed
to languish – there must be a justification for cases that require more
time. Processing Times: The average processing time for
licenses and agreements has continued to decline since June 2007, when
many internal changes were implemented. For cases that require referral
to other agencies for review the average processing time is 39 days,
and 24 days for cases that do not require referral. A complete
breakdown of license processing times is available on the DDTC website (www.pmddtc.state.gov). Licensing the export of defense articles and services is an
important component of building partnership capacity to fight the war
on terrorism. Defense Trade is a high Department priority, and has the
personal attention of senior officials such as Acting Under Secretary
for Arms Control and International Security John Rood and Acting
Assistant Secretary for Political Military Affairs Stephen Mull. The
Department of State continues its efforts to provide reliable and
timely processing of export licenses while ensuring that U.S. national
security and foreign policy interests are protected. The Administration
has taken additional steps, such as the negotiation of Treaties with
the United Kingdom and Australia, and the recent publication of changes
in the licensing for third-country national employees who are citizens
of NATO and EU member states, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and
Switzerland. |
 | |||
|
