2 September 2000
Source:
http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=00090104.wlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
US Department of State
International Information Programs
Washington File
_________________________________
01 September 2000
(Sets new level for notification, removes Estonia from sec. 1211b list) (490) President Clinton notified Congress August 30 of his decision to establish a new level for the notification procedure for digital computers set forth in section 1211(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 and his decision to remove Estonia from the list of countries covered under section 1211(b) of the Act. Following is the White House text of the president's letter: (begin text) THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary August 31, 2000 TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE CHAIRMEN AND RANKING MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE COMMITTEES ON ARMED SERVICES, THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, AND THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS August 30, 2000 In accordance with the provisions of section 1211(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (Public Law 105-85) (the "Act"), I hereby notify you of my decision to establish a new level for the notification procedure for digital computers set forth in section 1211(a) of the Act. The new level will be 28,000 Millions of Theoretical Operations per Second (MTOPS). In accordance with the provisions of section 1211(e), I hereby notify you of my decision to remove Estonia from the list of countries covered under section 1211(b). The attached report provides the rationale supporting these decisions and fulfills the requirements of sections 1211(d) and (e) of the Act. I have made these changes based on the recommendation of the Departments of Defense, Commerce, State, and Energy. Section 1211(d) provides that any adjustment to the control level described in 1211(a) cannot take effect until 180 days after receipt of this report by the Congress. Section 1211(e) provides that the removal of a country from the group of countries covered by section 1211(b) cannot take effect until 120 days after the Congress is notified. Given the rapid pace of technological change in the information technology industry, I believe these time periods are too long. I hope that we can work together to reduce both notification periods to 30 days. I have also directed the Secretary of Commerce to adjust the licensing requirements for Tier 2 and Tier 3 countries. The new level above which an individual license will be required for exports to Tier 2 countries is 45,000 MTOPS. In addition, I have decided to implement a single licensing level for Tier 3: the new level above which an individual license will be required for exports to Tier 3 countries is 28,000 MTOPS. The aforementioned licensing adjustments will take place immediately. I look forward to working cooperatively with the Congress on these issues. Sincerely, WILLIAM J. CLINTON (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)