U.S. May Ease Export of Rocket Technology

The White House is completing plans to permit the export of U.S. rocket technology that has been restricted out of fear it could be used to develop ballistic missiles, according to Clinton Administration sources.

The proposal to allow the sale of space technology under strengthened safeguards is part of a review of export controls and non-proliferation policy ordered by President Clinton. The review, being carried out by the National Security Council in concert with the Commerce, Defense and State departments, is trying to balance Clinton’s campaign pledge to stem the spread of weapons with the need to stimulate jobs through exports, particularly in the beleaguered aerospace and defense industries.

The plans also include continued restrictions on the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. All the agencies involved in making the proposals, which are contained in Presidential Review Directive 8, generally have agreed that they should be implemented, according to senior Administration sources. The President is expected to act on the recommendations soon.

The proposals are fraught with potential controversy. On the one hand, business is pressuring the Administration to ease the restrictions, arguing that U.S. industry is being unfairly hampered while foreign competitors sell the technology with abandon. At the same time, there is concern that the sale of such technology could speed up production of weapons that could be used against the United States and its allies.

Sources said that, in an effort to address the concerns, the proposal to sell rocket technology is coupled with plans for tighter guidelines on the spread of ballistic missiles and a worldwide ban on the production of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium.

Separate consultations are under way with allies to ease restrictions on computer exports and to allow foreign sales of supercomputers that perform at levels above those now permitted for export.

The Administration already has indicated a willingness to help struggling U.S. defense companies. Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown promoted the sale of U.S. military and commercial aircraft in June at the Paris Air Show, the first appearance at the arms fair in memory by an American Cabinet member.

The State Department, however, remains concerned about weapons proliferation and has resisted efforts by the Commerce Department to reduce or scrap existing controls on U.S. technology already sold freely by other countries, according to sources involved in the internal Administration debate.

Any attempt to ease export controls on U.S. technology faces the specter of Iraq. The George Bush Administration was criticized sharply for permitting Iraq to buy technology used to develop missiles and nuclear weapons and then accused of trying to cover up the extent of the aid. Members of Congress and the Administration alike are wary of a repeat performance.

Changes in U.S. policy will be incremental rather than radical, said Thomas Graham, acting director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. “It’s our view that controls certainly can be liberalized, but there still remains a significant advantage in not just removing all controls,” he said.

But in Congress there is sentiment for moving faster to relax restrictions on computers and other technology that have both commercial and military applications, such as those used in telecommunications.

“We have crippled entire industries while the French, the Germans and everybody else is selling all over the globe,” said Rep. Sam Gejdenson (D-Conn.), chairman of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that is conducting hearings on rewriting U.S. export laws.

Last month, 28 Democrats and Republicans in the California congressional delegation signed a letter to Clinton asking for the immediate elimination of controls on computers that are widely available from other countries and a streamlining of the export licensing process.

“The system can be improved remarkably by a little guts from the Administration,” said California Rep. Don Edwards (D-San Jose), who drafted the letter.

In a classified briefing for members of Congress, CIA officials acknowledged in July that controls on most computers no longer prevent nations from developing nuclear weapons, according to sources familiar with the session.

Some critics still fear that efforts to increase U.S. competitiveness by easing export restrictions will contribute to the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Under the rocket technology plan, countries with legitimate space programs could obtain U.S. technology to develop launch vehicles. But only governments that agreed to safeguards and monitoring to prevent diversion to ballistic missile programs would be eligible.

A senior Administration official declined to identify countries that might be permitted to buy U.S. rocket technology. Outside experts speculated that interest would come primarily from China, India and Russia. Pakistan, Argentina, Taiwan and South Korea also were mentioned as possible buyers.

The United States has pressured various countries, including China and Russia, not to sell their missile technology to nations on the Indian subcontinent or in the Middle East.