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Washington, D.C. — House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul issued the below statement following the Biden administration’s failure to grant the U.K. and Australia a defense trade exemption by the initial deadline set out by the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act in order to fully implement the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) security partnership. 

“This negative certification is very unfortunate, and I am perplexed as to why it was not given to our two closest partners. Because of that, our security efforts will continue to be hindered by International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). While I was pleased to see the Commerce Department quickly release an interim rule that will scale back export controls, the State Department continues to delay the necessary decision to deter and counter the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”

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