§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the likely impact on Britain"s defence industry of the refusal by the US Congress to grant a waiver to the United Kingdom in respect of International Trafficking in Arms Regulations. [114892]
§ Mr. IngramUnited Kingdom and United States Government officials have recently agreed proposed texts for a waiver from the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). This will provide for export licensing requirements to be waived in respect of certain unclassified defence items and technical data exported to Her Majesty"s Government and qualified companies in the UK, which would facilitate US/UK defence industrial collaboration.
Work continues on regulatory and administrative implementation measures needed to complete the undertakings that have been agreed between the Governments.
The US Government will respond to matters raised by the Congress about the terms of the agreement that has been reached.