Five Eyes enforcement agreement ‘huge for Australian defence sector’
The US government’s Bureau of Industry and Security (‘BIS’) has announced, 28 June, that the US has joined its Five Eye partners – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom – in ‘committing to formally coordinate on export control enforcement.’
BIS said that the ‘effort’ will ‘leverage enforcement resources to expand each country’s capacity to take action to prevent and deter evasion of export controls, including by restricting Russia’s access to technologies that fuel its unlawful invasion of Ukraine.’
The announcement follows a meeting in Ottawa, Canada, attended by officials from those countries, at which they ‘jointly committed to facilitating the exchange of information related to export control violations, including trends in illicit procurement methods, which will enable [them] to identify and address export evasion risks and enhance their ability to prevent unauthorized transfers and safeguard collective national security interests.’
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod said thatby formalising coordination, ‘we hope to drive additional enforcement outcomes in each of the Five Eyes countries, including detentions, penalties, and public identification of diversionary actors.’
The formal partnership, said the US government, will ‘significantly enhance the effectiveness of each country’s export control regimes, minimize gaps in enforcement, and foster joint investigations and coordinated enforcement actions.’
Amy McDonnell, a defence industry expert and senior manager with PwC in Canberra, told WorldECR that the move would have significant repercussions for the Australian defence industry.
‘Traditionally, the Australian export control regulator Defence Export Controls (DECO) has taken an information and awareness campaign approach to export controls enforcement in Australia. Strict investigation and enforcement of export control compliance always took a back seat.
‘This new coordination on enforcement indicates that is no longer the case. The Australian defence industry should be alert to heightened scrutiny and enforcement measures from DEC, as well as US, UK, Canada and NZ government representatives in-country,’ she said.
