John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has been appointed to the Department of Commerce’s new Advisory Committee on Deemed Export Controls by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.
The advisory panel will work on formulating recommendations for improving regulations governing the export of knowledge that occurs when when foreign nationals work on controlled technologies in the U.S. The committee's recommendations will help the Administration to decide if the current rules on so-called "deemed exports" should be revised.
The advisory group was created as a result of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) findings in 2004 that current policies could enable foreign nationals to gain access to otherwise controlled technologies.
According to OIG recommendations, requirements for a deemed export license should be based upon a foreign national’s country of birth rather than country of residence of citizenship.
Therefore, a foreign scientist born in China, who has Canadian citizenship, would need a license if they are working in the U.S. on technology that might be transferred to China.
The panel is make up of individuals with backgrounds in business, academia and security, and is co-chaired by Norman Augustine, retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Robert Gates, president of Texas A&M University.
In addition to Engler, other committee members include Albert Carnesale, former chancellor of the University of California at Los Angeles; Ruth David, President and CEO of Analytic Services, Inc.; Anthony Frank, Provost and Senior Vice President of Colorado State University; General John Gordon, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Sean O’Keefe, Chancellor of Louisiana State University; James Siedow, Vice Provost of Duke University; Eva Pell, Senior Vice President of Pennsylvania State University; and William Wulf, President of the National Academy of Engineering and Professor at the University of Virginia.