§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is the practice of the Defence Procurement Authority to include, in invitations to tender, a mandatory provision that a United States company responding to such an invitation must undertake to secure International Traffic in Arms Regulations waivers as necessary. [HL4178]
§ Lord BachThe Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) does not include any provision within its Invitations to Tender (ITT) requiring a US company to secure an International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) waiver. A proposal for a United Kingdom waiver from certain requirements of the ITAR has been agreed with the US Administration and is under consideration by the US Congress. Until such a waiver is in place a US company responding to an ITT from the DPA must comply with the current US regulations.
Where the "releasability" of US defence articles under the ITAR may be in doubt, the DPA may ask within the ITT for the US company to apply for an advisory opinion from the US Government on the proposed export that would form part of the tender response. This means that any restrictions or limitations are known before contract placement.