Organization recommends review and revision of US export control policy
BEIJING, May 14 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- According to results from a recent Impact of US Export Controls survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham-China), US companies have lost sales to foreign competitors due to real and perceived restrictions from US export controls. While respondents, comprised of US companies with operations in China, replied with wide ranges in their estimates of the total negative impact of the policy dollar amounts and lost US jobs, the losses were clear and substantial. In almost all cases where sales were lost, international non-US competitors provided equivalent products or services. The findings emphasize the importance of implementing an export control policy that enhances the national and economic security of the US, while taking a realistic view of the availability of products in foreign markets.
Of American companies impacted by export controls, three quarters said US export control and license requirements delay sales to their customers. Furthermore, more than three quarters of all respondents whose business involves US export licensable items indicated that customers have expressed a preference for buying non-US origin products due to concerns about US export controls.
On the sales front, estimates indicated a minimum of roughly US $2-3 million in lost sales revenue annually per company. Other companies estimated their own losses to be US $150 million per year, or more. Responses to the survey indicate that total lost sales and revenue from export controls and licenses for American businesses in China reaches in the billions annually.
In AmCham-China’s recently released 2009 White Paper on the State of American Business in China (White Paper), the organization emphasized the importance of an export control policy that enhances America’s national and economic security by controlling only exports of truly sensitive technologies. Current policy, AmCham-China says, casts a net too wide and restricts many technologies that are widely available from elsewhere, including Europe, Japan and Korea, among others.
There remains great concern in the American business community that the current export control policy puts US companies at an unnecessary disadvantage. “While export controls are essential to national security, clear and coordinated policy reflecting market realities is crucial to US economic security in an increasingly competitive global world,” said AmCham-China Chairman John D. Watkins, Jr.
Among respondents to the survey whose businesses involves US export licensable items in China, 64 percent reported lost sales in China because of US export controls. Of those that have lost sales, 93 percent reported that their customers purchased the item from other sources, almost always from a non-US foreign competitor.
In its White Paper, AmCham-China recommends the US government conduct a full review and revision of its export control regulations and base its policy on up-to-date information that considers commercial realities like indigenous domestic capabilities and availability from non-US foreign sources. The organization also has established an Export Compliance Working Group (ECWG) to inform the debate over China’s current capabilities and product availability in the market. The ECWG produces a series of comprehensive and substantiated reports on a wide range of high-technology industries to better inform US policymakers and help balance US export control policy.
AmCham-China circulated the Impact of US Export Controls survey to its members prior to its public release. Responses to the survey came from 77 members in various industries, ranging from aerospace to medical devices. The results indicate that while export controls do not impact all industries, those that are affected experience significant negative impact.
About The American Chamber of Commerce in China: AmCham-China is a China-based, non-profit organization representing the interests of 2,700 US companies and individuals doing business throughout China. For more information, visit: http://www.amchamchina.org
