ACCESSION NUMBER:344690
FILE ID:ECO302
DATE:05/18/94
TITLE:ENCRYPTION DISPUTE PERSISTS AS EXPORT-CONTROL BILL ADVANCES (05/18/94)
TEXT:ENCRYPTION DISPUTE PERSISTS AS EXPORT-CONTROL BILL ADVANCES
(House committee bill emphasizes multilateral regimes) (650)
By Bruce Odessey
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- A House of Representatives committee has approved legislation
for moving the U.S. export-control system out of the Cold War era, but the
Clinton administration opposes some provisions, especially one relaxing
controls on computer software with encryption capability.
The Foreign Affairs Committee May 18 approved by voice vote the bill
revising the Export Administration Act (EAA) and extending it from
expiration of the current EAA on June 30, 1994, through June 30, 1998.
Before the bill becomes law it must go before other House committees with
jurisdiction and win passage in the full House and Senate. The Senate
Banking Committee is scheduled to consider its version of the EAA bill May
24. A House-Senate conference to reconcile different versions of the bill
1s likely.
The Foreign Affairs Committee bill covers products useful in both civilian
and military applications, but not weapons themselves, which are covered by
another law.
It would link most controls to multilateral regimes and gives the president
leverage to strengthen those regimes, including preferential treatment for
regime members. It would make the control system more transparent and
impose strict deadlines, requiring decisions on export applications within
30 days.
The bill would authorize the president to control exports as required by
participation in multilateral regimes such as the Missile Technology
Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group (for
biological and chemical weapons) and any successor regime to the
Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM), which went
out of existence March 31.
It would restrict the president's authority to impose unilateral controls
except on exports to terrorist countries. First, the control would have to
meet specific criteria, including whether it could be enforced and whether
the economic cost would exceed any national-security benefit.
Second, it would limit unilateral controls to 60 days unless they were
adopted multilaterally or were included in a total embargo against a
specific country.
The president could seek extension of unilateral controls, but Congress
could reject them by a joint House-Senate resolution of disapproval.
An official who asked not to be identified said the unilateral-control
restrictions posed a problem for the Clinton administration. A bigger
problem, however, remained the encryption provision, the official said.
That provision would allow exports of "generally available" encryption
software or hardware as long as the intended end-use is civilian. The
National Security Agency opposes this proposal while U.S. industry supports
it, arguing that such products are available from competing non-U.S.
suppliers.
Representative Lee Hamilton, committee chairman, said he was seeking
consultation on this issue with Anthony Lake, President Clinton's national
security adviser, and members of the House Intelligence Committee.
"A compromise might be possible," Hamilton said.
Other controversies could emerge, including one concerning the Arab League
boycott of U.S. businesses that conduct trade with Israel. An amendment
approved by Foreign Affairs would give a right to private U.S. companies to
sue other U.S. companies that violate U.S. antiboycott law by supplying
information to Arab states about trade with Israel.
Another controversy could emerge about an amendment expected to be offered
during House floor debate by Representative Robert Torricelli. It would
prohibit exports of satellites for launch in China or Russia if those
countries were providing that service at less than a fair price. It would
pit U.S. satellite producers against U.S. providers of launch services.
U.S. oil companies are likely to oppose a provision of the bill extending
current law prohibiting exports of oil from Alaska's North Slope.
The Foreign Affairs bill would expand legislation passed by Congress in
April, which imposes government procurement sanctions against countries
that violate nuclear non-proliferation agreements. The bill would also
allow imposition of import sanctions in those cases.
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