No images? Click here
May 2023
USSC goes to Washington and Washington comes to USSC
A United States Studies Centre (USSC) delegation representing all four research programs travelled to New York and Washington DC at the start of the month, where they met with top leaders in the White House National Security Council (NSC), the Pentagon, Department of State and the new Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd. They also joined a corporate roundtable with the American Australian Association and held a joint conference with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
In Sydney, a conference with the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy, as well as delegations from the Republic of Korea and CSIS, and roundtables and workshops with prominent international officials on cyber security and commercial national security innovation capped off a packed May.
Reforming the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) was the topic of robust discussion in nearly every meeting in Washington – on Sydney too – with most stakeholders indicating advanced negotiations to navigate the regulatory changes to ensure ITAR is fit for purpose. Currently, ITAR is seen as perhaps the biggest obstacle to US-Australian defence coordination and AUKUS. As American Enterprise Institute Non-Resident Senior Fellow Dr William Greenwalt and USSC Research Fellow Tom Corben said in their report launched this month, “US export controls remain indiscriminate, essentially treating ally, partner, friend, neutral, or foe as equivalent categories. Breaking the barriers: Reforming US export controls to realise the potential of AUKUS provides a clear pathway via either the Executive or Legislative branches to approach the reform and the timing is optimal as the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing last week on the topic.
While President Biden had to postpone his trip to Australia, USSC was fortunate to be able to host a webinar with White House National Security Council officials Kurt Campbell, Edgard Kagan and Mira Rapp-Hooper. They provided a readout on what was accomplished on the sidelines of the G7, in particular, the Quad Leaders' Meeting and the new third pillar of the US-Australia alliance.
In all these touchpoints and intersections, it is clear that not only is interest in the alliance growing, but opportunities for collaboration and progress are speeding up. The USSC team is excited by the many opportunities to analyse and progress solutions for the most complex alliance issues.
EVENTS
How Australia can navigate US-China economic battles
Strategic competition between the United States and China, Australia’s most important ally and largest trading partner respectively, means Australia must maintain a delicate balancing act. China has recently begun removing restrictions on Australian imports in signs of improved bilateral relations, even as it threatens economic coercion in other areas of the region. With an uncertain global economic outlook and rising tensions across the Indo-Pacific, questions of how Australia should engage with China's economy have never been more important.
USSC is hosting a discussion with
Rhodium Group founding partner and USSC Visiting Fellow, Daniel Rosen in conversation with USSC Economic Security Program Director, Hayley Channer.
TYPE
Public event
WHERE
Auditorium, The Michael Spence Building (F23), Corner of Eastern Avenue and City Road, The University of Sydney, Camperdown NSW
WHEN
SYDNEY | Thursday, 15 June, 6–7:30pm AEST
COST
Free, but registration is essential
NEWS
Bridging Allies Workshop
On 9 May 2023, the Foreign Policy and Defence program at the United States Studies Centre, the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) at the Brussels School of Governance, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the United States co-hosted the second “Bridging Allies” workshop in Sydney.
Held at the historic Mint building in Sydney's downtown, the event brought together experts from across three continents to identify opportunities for closer cross-regional collaboration and cooperation. The workshop discussions covered a wide range of topics, including cross-regional strategic assessments, strengthening military deterrence, defence industrial cooperation, and economic security coordination. The workshop presentations will be published in major policy outlets in the coming months.
Quad in Sydney cancelled, but plenty to discuss
Even though the Quad Leaders' Summit in Sydney could not go ahead, this diplomatic development increased the need for expert analysis. USSC held a public forum featuring CEO Dr Michael Green, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Professor Peter Dean, non-resident Senior Fellow Dr Lavina Lee, and Research Fellow Tom Corben to discuss the significance of the change and what to expect next from the Quad.
When a condensed Quad happened at the sidelines of the G7 in Japan, White House NSC officials gave a readout on these discussions for the USSC audience. Watch the webinar here.
Visiting Fellow Dr William Inboden
Executive Director and William Powers, Jr. Chair at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas-Austin Dr William Inboden joined USSC as a visiting fellow in May. His recent book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, The Cold War, and the World on the Brink, provided ample fodder for discussion with key stakeholders looking to history to understand the future of the Republican Party. Dr Inboden held a special seminar for students and participated in a public event, How to stop a Cold War from becoming hot: Lessons from Ronald Reagan.
Look for him in an episode of the forthcoming USSC Briefing Room podcast.
UPSCALE continues to grow
The Economic Security Program held their second UPSCALE event in May, bringing together government and industry to look at leveraging private sector investment to drive national security innovation. Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty opened the event and participants broke into working groups to tackle some of the biggest challenges across Defence, technology and finance sectors.
In Q3, the Economic Security Program will pull together a report from insights gleaned so far for government and industry to react to and to further fine tune with input from key stakeholders.
ITAR report lands ahead of House hearing
AUKUS is one of the most ambitious defence pacts in modern history, but a new report by the USSC looks at how antiquated US legal system settings under the US International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR), are standing in the way for full realisation of the AUKUS agenda, potentially limiting Australia's access to key technologies.
The report, Breaking the barriers: Reforming US export controls to realise the potential of AUKUS, by USSC Research Fellow Tom Corben and lead author Dr William Greenwalt, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, analyses some of the key hurdles to a functioning AUKUS agreement, and ways in which they could be removed.
The report was featured in The Daily Telegraph and InnovationAus.
Kim Beazley and Leila Smith join USSC Board
USSC welcomed two new members of its Board, the Honourable Kim Beazley AC and Leila Smith. Mr Beazley is a former Australian ambassador to the United States and Minister for Defence. Ms Smith is Chair of the American Australian Association, a Charlie Perkins Scholar, and CEO of the Aurora Education Foundation. She is a Wiradjuri woman.
They bring distinguished experience in government, academia and education and are uniquely placed to provide valuable insight to the Board.
Read the media release here.
Exchange student trivia night huge success
USSC hosted a student trivia night with two cohorts of exchange students from the University of California - Los Angeles and the University of Southern California. More than 80 students turned up for an exuberant session, facilitated by Associate Professor David Smith.
As USSC prepares to send its first mobility exchange cohort to the United States since COVID-19, it is exciting to see the robust and diverse range of student activities come to life.
Now hiring
If you're looking to join the fast-paced and high-achieving team at USSC, now is your chance. We are hiring two key positions to help drive our impact.
Engagement Officer
The Engagement Officer will play a critical role in growing and optimising Centre engagement, improving the sustainability of the Centre through diversifying funding sources and increasing Centre impact through tracking, reporting and embedding an approach to impact throughout a broad range of activities.
Research Publications Associate
The position offers the opportunity to start your career in research through regular publishing, improving all major reports through strong copyediting and learning how to maximise impact through media outreach.
USSC perspectives
President Biden's postponement of his trip to Australia dominated headlines, but the announcement of the third pillar to the US-Australia alliance on the sidelines of the G7 showed continued commitment to strengthening ties between the two countries. USSC experts weighed in across the range of issues this month.
- Wartime charter a handy blueprint for the Indo-Pacific region by Stephen Loosley, first published in The Australian.
- The G7 minutes make grim reading for China and Russia by Dr Lavina Lee, first published in The Age.
- US technology controls fail to account for Pacific allies by Dr Miah Hammond-Errey and Tom Corben, first published in Nikkei Asia.
- China ‘de-risking’ agreed, now comes the hard part for allies as Australia seeks to leverage US Inflation Reduction Act by Hayley Channer, first published in The Australian.
- Can high-stakes debt-ceiling brinkmanship in the US lead to unprecedented political unity? by Jared Mondschein, first published in The Conversation.
New podcast | USSC Briefing Room
The USSC is about to launch a new podcast, the USSC Briefing Room, to give listeners a seat at the table for a USSC briefing on the latest in US news and foreign policy. Click below to email us and be notified when the first episode is published.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Videos and podcasts
The latest recordings from our webinars are available on our YouTube channel and USSC Live podcast. Find all of the Centre’s podcast recordings here.
- WEBINAR | Readout on President Biden's Asia trip: A conversation with Kurt Campbell, Edgard Kagan and Mira Rapp-Hooper. WATCH HERE
- PODCAST | The Asia Chessboard: Economics, security, and alignment: The perspective from Australia with Scott Morrison, Mike Green and Jude Blanchette. LISTEN HERE
- LIVE EVENT | USSC Researchers on the Quad with Mike Green, Peter Dean, Lavina Lee and Tom Corben. WATCH HERE
- LIVE EVENT | How to stop a Cold War from becoming hot: Lessons from Ronald Reagan with Will Inboden and Mike Green. WATCH HERE
- PODCAST | Technology and Security (TS) podcast: Intelligence, AI and AUKUS with Susan Gordon and Miah Hammond-Errey. LISTEN HERE
- WEBINAR | The optimal pathway for ITAR reform with Bill Greenwalt, Tom Corben, Jen Jackett in conversation with Mari Koeck. WATCH HERE
ARE YOU GETTING "THE 46TH"?
"The 46th" is our weekly wrap of US politics and policy news, analysis and events. Get it delivered straight to your inbox every Wednesday!
Sign up now
Manage your email preferences | Forward this email to a friend
United States Studies
Centre
Institute Building H03
University of Sydney NSW 2006
