I don't know how much rational arguments enter into it. The U.S. State Department has consistently avoided going to court on ITAR questions, because some of it

I don't know how much rational arguments enter into it. The U.S. State Department has consistently avoided going to court on ITAR questions, because some of its pronouncements seem clearly unconstitutional. They'll never let it be tested, though. There was a case where a civilian IMU, or some-such was used in a civilian aircraft and then later used in a military missile. Because of the missile use, it fell under ITAR and the U.S. aerospace firm that was using it in the civilian vehicle was fined. This seems like a retro-active law which is unconstitutional. It was easier for the firm to just pay the fine, rather than litigate. I'm lazy, and this is anecdotal, but this story seems to be well known in new-space circles.