Major Export Controls Revisions And The AUKUS Trilateral Security Partnership

Highlights

• Following its determination that the United Kingdom and Australia have aligned their export control regimes with the regime in the U.S., the U.S. Department of State has recently issued a new Interim Final Rule that will authorize exports of most International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)-controlled items from the U.S. to the U.K. and Australia.
• This Interim Final Rule follows an additional rule published by the U.S. Department of Commerce in April 2024, which amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and reduced licensing requirements on exports to Australia and the U.K.
• As a result of these rules, the vast majority of commercial defense and dual-use trade between the three countries is now authorized without a license, thereby enhancing technological innovation in support of the goals of AUKUS, the Trilateral Security Partnership between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S.