I would, Madam Chair. Thank you.
CPC-5 is similar to the previous amendment. It amends the Export and Import Permits Act by saying that:
For as long as any permit issued under subsection (2) is in force to broker any type of munition that is to be imported into any country specified in the permit for end-use in that country, brokering the types of munition specified in that permit that are to be imported into Ukraine for end-use in Ukraine is also permitted, subject to the terms and conditions specified in that permit.
The effect of this is.... For those less familiar with the arms export process, there are so-called open policy countries that are designated for having a more streamlined review process for the export of weapons. Open policy countries are most of our NATO allies, as well as our Five Eyes partners. I believe South Korea is on that list as well. They are mostly our NATO partners, as well as some of our Asia-Pacific partners that are already on that list subject to a more streamlined review process.
That means that weapons exports get there substantially faster. If a weapons export is intended for one of these designated open policy countries, the typical standard for the timeline of that export is about one-quarter of the time for exports to countries that are not on the open policy list.
What we're proposing to do.... The effect of this amendment would be to add Ukraine, an important ally fighting an existential struggle for its survival, to that open policy list of countries, so that weapons would get to Ukraine faster.
I've been surprised before, but I don't see why anybody would have a reason to oppose this amendment to remove red tape. It would streamline and speed up the process of allowing essential munitions to get into the hands of Ukrainian soldiers.
Thanks.