To obtain US 'controlled technical data', Australian firms will need to enter into Technical Assistance Agreements (TAAs) and Manufacturing License Agreements (MLAs) with their US contractor. Most Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) work will require a TAA or MLA.
A TAA is an agreement between a US company and a foreign entity for the performance of a defence service or for the disclosure of technical data in support of a defence project on a permanent or temporary basis. An MLA is an agreement between a US company and a foreign entity authorising the foreign entity to manufacture defence articles outside the US.
The US company must submit the proposed agreement with the US State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) for approval. This approval process can take up to 3 months and can affect the ability of Australian companies to bid for Request for Proposals (RFPs) and be awarded contracts, so US companies need to be encouraged to start the export licensing process as soon as they decide to issue an RFP to an Australian company.
It is important for Australian companies to confirm that the process has been initiated early in their discussions with US firms, to avoid discovering further down the track that there has been a disconnect between the engineers and legal department in the US firm processing the export licensing requests, resulting in a lost opportunity.
Whilst companies await the approval of TAAs, they may be able to use the Bid and Proposal ITAR Waiver or the Global Project Authorisation to receive information for bidding purposes. Once the TAA or MLA is approved however, the technical data or defence services described in the agreements may generally be provided without further licensing.
Back to US Export Licensing Process