In the US all commercial communication satellites are classified under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation as an "arm" meaning that all satellites built in the US must be authorized to be sold to a foreign company by the US State Department. This has caused the US presence in the satellite industry to decline in the world market from 83% to 50% (The Economist). Foreign companies are looking to companies outside the US to reduce the cost of purchasing a satellite. Some foreign companies are directly advertising that they are "ITAR free" hoping to pull more business away from the US.
If the classification is changed for commercial comm satellites to remove them from the ITAR classification list more jobs can be brought to America and the US can once again be a global competitor.



