• India has become the first south Asian to get the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 (STA-1) status. India became the third Asian country after Japan and South Korea to get the Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) status.
• India is also the 37th country to be designated the STA-1 status by the United States.
• India so far was listed in STA-2 category along with Albania, Hong Kong, Israel, Malta, Singapore, South Africa and Taiwan.
• It was significance as the Trump Administration made an exception for India, which is yet to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
• The US has placed only those countries in the STA-1 list who are members of the four export control regimes: Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), Australia Group (AG) and the NSG.

Strategic Trade Authorisation:

• STA is the licence exemption that allows a set of items on the Commerce Control List to be exported from the US under defined conditions without a transaction-specific licence.
• The STA exception is relevant to exports, re-exports and transfers for which a licence is required under the Export Administration Regulations – one of the two important US export control laws that affect the manufacturing, sales and distribution of technology.

Impact:

• This commitment has been realised in the two countries mutually agreed upon steps to expand cooperation in civil space, defence, and other high-technology sectors.
• This status will ease export control of high-technology product sales to India will help getting critical and latest technology, particularly in civil space and defence sectors.
• This would allow the transfer of more sensitive defence technologies and dual use technologies to India and without the risk of any proliferation by this certain equipment & devices are given which are avoided for long.
• STA-1 status reduces the number of licenses required for equipment purchase and increases the number of license exceptions available.
• This regulatory change will enhance the bilateral defence trade relationship and result in a greater volume of US exports to India.
• This recognition facilitates and supports India’s military modernisation efforts.
• Provides India greater supply chain efficiency, both for defence and for other high-tech products, that will increase activity with US systems, the interoperability of the systems.

Strategic:

• By placing India in the STA-1 list, the United States has acknowledged India as a special allay even Israel not got that tag.
• This tells other country which are blocking India’s membership of NSG like china that India meet all requirement of NSG.
• This rule is another in the series of rules that implement reforms to which the US and India mutually agreed to promote global non-proliferation, expand high technology cooperation and trade, and ultimately facilitate India’s full membership in the four multilateral export control regimes.
• Help India to emerge as global power & help in Make in India by increasing defence manufacturing.
• This is an acknowledgement of the security as well as the economic relationship between India and the USA it fleshes out our defence partnership in a big way.