US Regulatory Barriers Put AUKUS at Risk: Report

Despite progress in harmonising laws in Australia, the UK and the U.S., there remain barriers to the success of AUKUS, mostly lingering U.S. regulations.

An undated visualisation of what an SSN-AUKUS submarine might look like at sea, issued on March 13, 2023. BAE

The success of AUKUS could be at risk unless U.S. lawmakers are prepared to make further concessions toward Australia and the United Kingdom on arms trade regulations, according to a new report from the United States Studies Centre.

The report, titled “AUKUS enablers? Assessing Defence Trade Control Reforms in Australia and the United States,” was authored by Tom Corben, a Research Fellow in the Foreign Policy and Defence at Centre, and William Greenwalt, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.