Media Coverage
Source: The Washington Post
Media Coverage
01.04.13
Small manufacturers across the country are fighting an uphill battle to keep making things in the United States. One challenge is trying to keep up with federal export controls. The controls are intended to help the United States walk the tightrope between national security and business interests, but the speed of technological progress and the inherent complexity of the manufacturing process make writing transparent and lasting regulations difficult.
The Obama administration seeks to develop a unified computer system and to create one agency that would handle all export control.
Christopher Wall, a partner in Pillsbury’s international trade practice in Washington, D.C. and former assistant secretary of commerce for export administration, sees the computer system as vital and an obvious move. “It’s below the radar. Nobody sees it, but it’s a major, major step.”
Creating a new federal agency, on the other hand, requires legislation and could be a tough sell in today’s political climate. “The idea of consolidating every bureaucracy is dead on arrival because it’s not necessary,” Wall said.
Wall thinks the system needs to be updated but not completely shelved. Today’s regulatory framework is “like taking an old computer and using it for modern functions,” he added.