Arlington, Va. (Sept. 6, 2023) – The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) today released comprehensive feedback to proposed legislation on the Australia – United Kingdom – United States (AUKUS) partnership and related defense trade provisions. AIA’s Statement of Industry Consensus discusses industry perspectives on five pieces of legislation currently pending before the U.S. Congress: S. 2226, the Senate National Defense Authorization Act; H.R. 4725, the AUKUS Oversight and Accountability (AOA) Act of 2023; H.R. 4619, the AUKUS Submarine Transfer Authorization Act of 2023; H.R. 4716, the Keeping our Allies Leading in Advancement (KOALA) Act of 2023; and H.R. 4715, the Bilateral Resilience in Industry Trade Security (BRITS) Act of 2023.
“AUKUS has the potential to be a game-changing partnership that shapes security in the Indo-Pacific for generations to come. Legislation, policy, and regulation must all work together to enable the hallmarks of the agreement: collaboration, innovation, and technology sharing,” said Eric Fanning, AIA’s President and CEO. “The Aerospace Industries Association welcomes the proposed legislation moving through Congress and is offering its expert assessment on how AUKUS will be implemented because of these changes. We share the goal of overcoming existing barriers by building a clean, simple, and uncomplicated framework to unleash the potential of AUKUS.”
AIA is largely supportive of congressional intent and proposed action to address U.S. export and defense trade policies that will enable AUKUS to succeed. The historic security pact relies heavily on industry in the United States as well as in Australia and the U.K. to fulfill its tenets.
This feedback builds on earlier recommendations released by AIA and its industry counterparts in Australia (Ai Group) and the UK (ADS) for how the three countries could improve the regulatory and trade environment for the partnership. AIA also released its own United States-specific recommendations.
Click here to read the full document.
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