Export Controls

The United States is pursuing several initiatives to loosen export controls and multilateral technology restrictions on India, U.S. officials announced during President Barack Obama’s Nov. 6-9 trip to India.

At a Nov. 8 joint press conference with Obama in New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomed the shift in U.S. policy toward fewer restrictions on India, calling it a “manifestation of the growing trust and confidence” between the two countries. The United States and India have agreed to cooperate further in “space, civil nuclear, defense, and other high-end sectors,” he said.

Following public outcry from British citizens and members of Parliament, the United Kingdom in July revoked five licenses for the export of arms components to Israel. The British decision could encourage other European Union (EU) members to review their current Israel export policy, a European Commission (EC) official said. According to a British government official, an EU working group will meet in Brussels Sept. 4 to discuss exports to Israel. (Continue)

The members of the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized countries agreed to adopt new rules for sensitive nuclear exports, according to a statement released during the group’s July 8-10 summit in L’Aquila, Italy. Subsequent remarks by officials from some of the G-8 countries regarding trade with India, however, seem to be at odds with the G-8 statement. (Continue)

A UN nonproliferation committee issued a progress report July 30 on states' efforts to implement a global instrument aimed at preventing terrorists and other nonstate actors from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. The report indicated that although many states have instituted a range of measures for this purpose, countries "need to do far more than they have already done" to fulfill their international obligations in this regard. (Continue)