PORCUPINE Act
The PORCUPINE Act would revise the Arms Export Control Act to treat Taiwan as eligible for the same shorter certification and reporting timelines that apply to certain allied countries, and to create an expedited licensing process for allied transfers of military equipment to Taiwan. In practice, this means Taiwan would be added to the list of recipients that receive faster government review of arms exports and related services, and the Secretary of State would establish a rapid, government-to-government licensing process for blanket transfers from key U.S. allies (and certain partner nations) to Taiwan, with strict deadlines. The bill also requires a future report assessing how well this expedited process works and how it coordinates with allied export-control regimes.
Key Points
- 1Taiwan is added to the list of recipient countries eligible for shorter certification and reporting periods under the Arms Export Control Act, alongside places like New Zealand and Israel.
- 2The bill expands multiple sections of law to include Taiwan in the applicable provisions that govern export controls and licensing timelines.
- 3It requires the Secretary of State to establish, within 90 days of enactment, an expedited decision-making process for blanket third-party transfers to Taiwan from NATO members, Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Israel, or New Zealand.
- 4The expedited process aims to cap decision times: government-to-government approvals within 15 days, and reviews of other licensing requests within 30 days, where practicable.
- 5A report must be submitted to Congress within one year after the expedited process is established, evaluating implementation, effectiveness, and alignment with the export-control practices of allied countries.