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In the third report in the US National Technology and Industrial Base (NTIB) series from the United States Studies Centre (USSC) at the University of Sydney, one of America’s preeminent defence industrial policy experts says that the Trump administration must double down on cooperation with close allies like Australia to meet its ‘America First’ defence industrial goals.
In The once and future US National Technology and Industrial Base, Dr William Greenwalt, Senior Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, argues that the expanded NTIB construct provides many of the tools and authorities required to advance that agenda, including through initiatives like AUKUS. But it warns that the Trump administration must resist bipartisan protectionist instincts and overcome Pentagon policy inertia to finally tap the NTIB’s potential.
USSC Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Dr Lavina Lee said, “Dr Greenwalt is one of America’s leading experts on US defence industrial and technology issues, demonstrated by his work for the Centre to date on US defence export control reform.”
“The Trump administration’s willingness to radically change the way the Pentagon does business with the commercial sector could – if done right – create more opportunities for mutually-beneficial cooperation with allies.”
The report notes that the United States cannot achieve all of its defence production needs on its own, observing that the current administration needs to determine whether deeper collaboration with allies beyond the paradigm of arms sales is consistent with its worldview. If convinced, the report notes that the Trump administration’s appetite for historically difficult reforms could lead to significant optimisation of the NTIB framework, with benefits for Australia and the United States alike.
“The United States cannot counter China alone. Finally realising the full promise of allied defence industrial integration would be one of the most significant boosts to collective security in the Indo-Pacific they could make during its term,” Dr Lee concluded.
The once and future US National Technology and Industrial Base is the third report in a series looking at the US NTIB.
Key recommendations
To revive the NTIB as a viable mechanism for alliance industrial integration, NTIB member countries should:
- Establish an NTIB senior officials’ governing body to address industrial base harmonisation issues, ideally with minister-level buy-in.
- Further reform technology transfer and acquisition laws, regulations, policies and practices, with a focus on commercial technologies.
- Limit protectionist process barriers to cooperation by preserving agreements that protect against it, such as Reciprocal Defence Procurement Agreements (RDPAs).
- Sequence the NTIB’s objectives by prioritising immediate defence production requirements, establishing trusted supply chains for commercial and dual-use technologies, and creating a roadmap for a joint commercial development and acquisition model.