U.S. Eases Rules on Technology Export : It’s Easier to Ship Some Computers but Restrictions Still Apply to High-Tech Items

The Commerce Department announced today it had eliminated many licensing rules for shipping technology goods to U.S. allies, making it easier to export some computers, telephone switching devices and machine tools.

It said that under the eased curbs, required by the 1988 Trade Act, between $20-billion and $30-billion worth of U.S. goods can be shipped to members of the Paris-based Coordinating Committee on Multilateral Export Controls.

The new regulations also allow any member of the group, known as CoCom, to reship the technology to another CoCom nation without U.S. approval.

CoCom, was formed after World War II to prevent the flow of high-technology weaponry to Communist Bloc nations. The group is composed of NATO nations, with the exception of Iceland, as well as Japan and Australia.

The new regulations also cover shipments to Switzerland and Finland, which do not belong to CoCom but have effective export controls, the Commerce Department said.

“These rules have the potential of eliminating thousands of licenses each year without compromising our national security,” said James LeMunton, deputy assistant secretary for export administration.

He added that the lifting of controls would allow for the department to reduce paper work and focus on critical exports.

“As a result,” he said, “both U.S. security and the ability of U.S. companies to win in the global marketplace are enhanced.”

U.S. businesses long have argued for relaxed controls on low-technology exports, saying that U.S. companies were losing business to rivals in nations without such regulations.

Defense Department officials had fought eased regulations, fearing that some technology could fall into unfriendly hands and be converted to military use.

The Commerce Department said export curbs were relaxed for small personal computers and minicomputers, small mainframe computers, small disk drives, some integrated circuits, telephone switching equipment, high-speed data transmission equipment and fiber-optic cable.

But it said there was no change in licensing rules for supercomputers and “bugging” devices.