The US State Department says it fully expects to finalise new trade exemptions for the AUKUS defence project with Australia and the UK over the next 120 days.
"Exemptions in our export control systems, within a framework of shared standards with Australia and the UK, are key to harnessing and maximising the innovative power residing in our defence industrial bases," a department statement said.
"We fully expect to finalise the new trade exemptions - based on stakeholder input - over the course of the next 120 days."
The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires President Joe Biden to determine within 120 days of his signing it into law on December 22 whether Australia and Britain have export control regimes "comparable to the United States" and thereby qualify for the exemptions. The 120 days will be reached on Saturday.
The State Department's Friday statement indicated a delay in that determination, but the legislation requires Biden to revisit the issue in another 120 days.
Australia's Department of Defence said in a statement it welcomed the "tangible steps" by the US to streamline export control licensing requirements for AUKUS.
"The decision by the United States Department of Commerce to establish a licence-free dual-use export environment amongst and between AUKUS partners is another significant step towards establishing a seamless environment for innovation, cooperation and collaboration," it said on Saturday.
A statement from the British government said it "warmly welcomes the significant progress" to advance AUKUS.
"UK and Australia are on track to meet the requirements of the NDAA and benefit from the exemptions," it said.
"We are confident that by the next 120-day period we will have completed all the requirements for full implementation of the ITAR exemptions."
Senior Republican lawmakers this week expressed concern about delays in AUKUS if Biden did not grant the exemptions from strict export controls for defence items covered by US International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul said the exemptions were needed to allow businesses to develop advanced capabilities quickly without "burdensome bureaucracy and regulations".
Former senior Defence Department official Jeff Bialos said the State Department has resisted blanket exemptions for Britain and Australia ever since they were first proposed by the Pentagon nearly 25 years ago while he was in office.
He called the State Department statement "forward leaning" and said he now expected the three countries to put forward draft exemptions covering each other's export control rules.
"One of the criteria is that the other countries also have a system that will allow exports to the US to be exempt. It's reciprocal," he said.
On Thursday, the US Commerce Department said it was scaling back its export control requirements for Australia and Britain to foster defence trade under AUKUS, reducing licensing burdens for trade valued at more than $US7.5 billion ($A11.7 billion).
However, the Commerce Department only handles licensing of some defence-related items, not the broader range of items covered by the ITAR regime, which is governed by the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Experts say this office has long been resistant to relaxing the rules.
In announcing its move, the Commerce Department said both Australia and Britain "have robust export control systems and have taken additional steps in recent months to enhance technology protection".
It said Britain's 2023 National Security Act provides for enhanced protections against the unauthorised disclosure of certain defence-related information.
It said Australian legislation provides for controls on re-exports of items originally exported from Australia, disclosures of controlled technology to certain foreign persons within Australia, and the provision of defence services.
Australian Associated Press
