While government contracts were a major contributor to commercial space revenues in 2005, export regulations continued to hamper growth. The International Space Business Council cited the International Traffic in Arms Regulations as the “industry’s most serious issue,”
arguing that “what initially was a nuisance to businesses has evolved into a serious problem for US industry.” Many American manufacturers believe that the US export control policy is hampering their commercial competitiveness. Under ITAR, payloads containing US components cannot be transported to China to be launched by Chinese launchers. Analysts described Alcatel’s first Chinasat 9 contract as a de facto “non-competed win” since the world’s other principal satellite manufacturers in the US and Europe use US components that would be banned from export to China. On the same basis, Alenia Space won another contract to build the ChinaSat 6B in 2005. US regulations have also allegedly prevented growth in the satellite broadband market, causing the US to lag behind countries such as South Korea, Canada, and the Netherlands. At a 20 April 2005 hearing convened by the US House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, testimony focused on the detrimental effect of US government regulations for American launch and satellite companies. Nevertheless, analysts note that US manufacturers continue to dominate the global market.

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Collard-Wexler, Simon, Thomas Graham et al. Space Security 2006. Waterloo, Ontario: Space Security Index, July 2006. [ 26 quotes ] [ page 94 ]