Computer export limitations eased. (Insider Report).(United States international trade)(Brief Article)

President Bush informed congressional leaders on January 2nd that he was easing Cold War restrictions on exporting of high-speed computers to China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and other countries classified as "Tier 3" under federal policy. Under the administration's new, more lenient standards, the performance threshold for exports to these countries will be raised from 85,000 MTOPS (millions of theoretical operations per second) to 190,000 MTOPS. (In contrast, a typical home computer sold in retail stores today is capable of about 2,100 MTOPS.) Computers performing above the limit require federal licenses and prior government review before being approved for export.

A White House fact sheet claimed: "The President's decision will promote national security, enhance the effectiveness of our export control system and ease unnecessary regulatory burdens on both government and industry." In easing restrictions, Mr. Bush was following in the footsteps of his predecessor, who had revised U.S. export controls on high-performance computers six times since 1993. A fact sheet issued by the Clinton State Department on January 10, 2001, explaining the last revision, used language almost identical to that of the Bush administration fact sheet: "The President's action will promote our national security, enhance the ...