ALEXANDRIA, VA, June 9, 2010 – The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) has told the Obama administration that legislation pending on Capitol Hill threatens to undermine the global competitiveness of the U.S. aerospace industry.

In a letter sent yesterday to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, ARSA Executive Vice President Christian A. Klein warned that proposed language in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill will obstruct aviation maintenance exports and hinder the ability of U.S. companies to compete internationally. In a recent visit to the Boeing maintenance facility at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, Secretary Clinton acknowledged aerospace is the United States’ leading export.

Klein praised the Obama administration’s commitment to strengthening the U.S. economy through the National Export Initiative (NEI), but said the pending legislation is contrary to that effort.

ARSA asserts that provisions in the House legislation requiring the FAA to inspect foreign repair stations twice annually and imposing mandatory drug and alcohol testing on overseas repair stations will violate international accords, resulting in retaliatory measures by key trading partners. Furthermore, the House bill fails to recognize our longstanding U.S.-Canada Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA), which treats certification granted by Transport Canada to an Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO) as the equivalent of FAA approval.

In the letter, Klein urged Secretary Clinton to weigh-in with Congress and “ensure that the requirements and recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) be allowed to dictate international safety and security laws and regulations.”

To read the full text of the letter click here.

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ARSA is an Alexandria, Virginia-based trade association that represents aviation maintenance and manufacturing companies. The association has a distinguished 25-year record of advocating for repair stations and providing regulatory compliance assistance to the industry.

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