Defense Trade: State Department Needs to Conduct Assessments to Identify and Address Inefficiencies and Challenges in the Arms Export Process
Highlights
To regulate the export of billions of dollars worth of arms to foreign governments and companies, the Department of State's (State) Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) reviews and authorizes export licenses and other arms export cases. While such reviews require time to consider national security and foreign policy interests, the U.S. defense industry and some foreign government purchasers have expressed concern that the U.S. export control process is unnecessarily time-consuming. In 2005, GAO reported that processing times for arms export cases had increased despite State efforts to streamline its process. GAO was asked to (1) describe recent trends in the processing of arms export cases and (2) identify factors that have contributed to these trends. To conduct its work, GAO obtained and analyzed State arms export case data for fiscal year 2003 through April 30, 2007; reviewed relevant laws, regulations, and guidelines, as well as DDTC funding and staffing information; and interviewed State and Department of Defense officials and selected arms exporters.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of State | To improve the efficiency of processing arms export cases, the Secretary of State should direct the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to conduct systematic analyses of licensing data to assess root causes of inefficiencies and to identify and implement actions to better manage workload, reexamine its processes, determine the most effective workforce structure, and target industry outreach. |
The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls concurred with the recommendation and took the following actions to implement: Analyzed available data on licensing activity to identify root causes. They took the following corrective actions: 1) Shifted personnel to address staffing imbalances. 2) Created a new position of Quality Assurance Manager. 3) Instituted regular management case reviews. 4) Developed standard operating procedures for licensing officers. 5) Improved management oversight of electronic case processing 6) Developed written guidelines for industry. 7) Enhanced industry outreach through improved web site access to information and guidance, periodic newsletters, and seminars. As a result of these actions, average processing times have been cut in half, from about 35 days in March 2007 to about 15 days in March 2008. In addition, the number of open cases now averages about 3,500 per month, a number the Director of Licensing considers a normal and manageable number of open cases.
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