WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Friday it fully expects to finalize new trade exemptions for the AUKUS defense project with Australia and Britain 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 maximizing the innovative power residing in our defense industrial bases," the department said in a statement.
"We fully expect to finalize the new trade exemptions – based on stakeholder input – over the course of the next 120 days," it said.
The 2024 U.S. National Defense Authorization Act requires President Joe Biden to determine within 120 days of his signing it into law on Dec. 22 whether Australia and Britain have export control regimes "comparable to the United States" and thereby qualify for the exemptions. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)