3 January 2002
Source:
http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=02010202.clt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
US Department of State
International Information Programs
Washington File
_________________________________
02 January 2002
(Export limits are brought up to modern standards, it says) (500) The Bush administration has revised export rules for dual-use computer technology. In a January 2 news release, the White House said the United States will raise the individual license requirement limit from the current level of 85,000 Millions of Theoretical Operations Per Second (MTOPS) to 190,000 MTOPS for exports of computers to Tier 3 countries, including Russia and China. MTOPS is an indicator of a computer's operating speed. The decision also affects general-purpose microprocessors with an operating speed of 12,000 MTOPS or less that now can be exported to many countries without individual licenses. The United States limits sales of civilian computer technology to certain countries that may use it for military purposes. The Bush administration also intends to remove Latvia from the list of countries for which prior review is required for computer exports, the release says. The White House says that these changes are motivated by president Bush's desire to protect U.S. national security while allowing U.S. high-tech companies to compete in global markets where higher-speed computers are now commonplace. Following is the text of the White House news release: (begin text) THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary (Crawford, Texas) January 2, 2002 STATEMENT BY THE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY Changes to U.S. Dual-Use Export Controls President Bush today announced changes to the Administration's export controls on computers and microprocessors. These changes will advance the President's goal of updating the U.S. export control system so that it protects U.S. national security, and at the same time, allows America's high tech companies to innovate and successfully compete in today's marketplace. Specifically, the United States will raise the level above which it requires individual licenses for computer exports to Tier 3 countries (which include Russia, Israel, India, Pakistan, and China) from the current level of 85,000 Millions of Theoretical Operations Per Second (MTOPS) to 190,000 MTOPS. Latvia will be moved from Tier 3 to the group of countries for which no prior review is required for computer exports. The President has notified Congress of these changes, as required by law. These changes require a 60- and 120-day Congressional notification period. The United States also will raise the level at which it requires individual licenses for exports to many destinations of general purpose microprocessors from 6,500 MTOPS to 12,000 MTOPS. The new computer and microprocessor levels will become effective when published by the Department of Commerce in the Federal Register. These reforms are needed due to the rapid rate of technological change in the computer industry. Single microprocessors available today by mail order and the Internet perform at more than twenty-five times the speed of supercomputers built in the early 1990s. Computer performance that once cost millions of dollars is now available in inexpensive systems used in homes, schools and businesses, and made by companies around the world. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)