United States grants Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) status to India

The United States has recently granted Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) status to India that will ease export of high-tech items. The designation authorises the export, re-export and transfer (in-country) of specified items on the Commerce Control List (CCL) to destinations posing a low risk of unauthorised or impermissible uses. Currently, there are 36 countries on STA-1 list, almost all from the Nato and ANZUS alliance. India is the only South Asian country to be on the list. Other Asian countries designated as STA-1 are Japan and South Korea. Till recently India was designated as STA-2 countries along with seven others. According to the Department of Commerce, items that are eligible for export to STA1 destinations or nationals include items that are subject to control for: national security (NS), chemical or biological weapons (CB), nuclear nonproliferation (NP), regional stability (RS), crime control (CC) and significant items (SI).