CSIS: US Export Controls Harming US Space Industry
March 2008
The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington research group has released a 63 page report on the Health of the US Space Industrial Base and the Impact of Export Controls. The main concern from the report was that the US export controls that were tightening almost 10 years ago are hindering the US share of the global space markets.
The US tightened space technology-transfer rules in 1999 after investigators found China has acquired sensitive technology from US built commercial satellites. When the new rules were implemented they put commercial communications satellites, subsystems, and components on a munitions list that became subject to State Department licensing even if the product could be easily purchases worldwide.
The overall health of the top-tier manufactures in the industry such as Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. all had “good financial health” despite the US industry’s loss of shares overseas. The report shows that Russia, China and others are gaining space market share aided by the US policy. Jeffery Foust, a space and telecommunications expert at Futron Corp explained that the US policy backfired in space. “The US is actually hurting national security by making it more difficult for the space companies it depends on to compete in the global market,” he said.
The study concluded that the ability for the government and industry to meet program execution commitments is inadequate and that there was a unanimous agreement that the export control process can be improved without adversely affecting national security.
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