Campus News

CITS director to testify before Congress

CITS director to testify before Congress

Athens, Ga. – Gary K. Bertsch, founder and director of UGA’s Center for International Trade and Security, will testify before Congress in a public hearing on China’s Proliferation and the Impact of Trade Policy on Defense Industries in the United States and China on Thursday, July 12, at 2:30 p.m. The hearing is scheduled for July 12-13 and will be held in Room 385 of the Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Hosted by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, the hearing will examine the impact of China’s proliferation practices on U.S. national security, China’s compliance with its own nonproliferation laws and regulations, as well as international proliferation norms, the development of indigenous defense industrial capacity in China, and the impact of trade practices and manufacturing in China on the U.S. defense industrial base.

Bertsch will contribute testimony on the first day of the hearing. The discussion will focus on the national security effects of China’s proliferation, as well as strategy for encouraging China to increase its commitment to nonproliferation.

Founded in 1987, CITS is associated with UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs. Devoted to research, teaching, and outreach on issues related to international trade and security, the Center is highly regarded for its research on nonproliferation export controls – the laws, regulations, and enforcement arrangements that keep the components of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists and countries of concern. CITS’ activities bolster export controls in countries where these components are manufactured, transshipped, and imported.

For more information on the hearing on China’s Proliferation and the Impact of Trade Policy on Defense Industries in the United States and China, see: http://www.uscc.gov/.