Russia and the United States do not plan to renew the bilateral trade agreement that sets quotas on commercial launches, which expires on December 31.
In late June officials from both countries agreed that the agreement is being fulfilled, the goals set have been attained and there are no longer any trade or economic reasons for Russia and the United States to extend this agreement beyond December 31, 2000, the Russian Aerospace Agency said Friday.
During discussions both countries pointed out that multi-sided principles for the participation of telecom operators in commercial space launches had successfully been developed.
Russian services in commercial space launches for international customers are being carried out in accordance with the agreement, the agency said in a statement.
We noted a mutual desire to continue cooperating in commercial space launches, holding to the principles of a free market: We agreed that after the agreement expires we will continue to hold consultations from time to time in order to stay informed about developments on the market of international commercial space launches, the space agency said.
The current agreement allows American companies to launch no more than 20 satellites per year using Russian rockets. Similar agreements with Ukraine and China expire in 2001.
Some U.S. aerospace companies have lobbied Congress to extend the term of the quotas for some countries with non-market economies.
But Boeing and Lockheed Martin, have lobbied for an end to the quotas, which prevent them from using cheaper Russian and Ukrainian rockets for launches.
The global commercial launch market is estimated at $69 billion per year.
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