Monday, August 14, 2000		Article

Faster computers for India: White House fact-sheet

PRESIDENT Bill Clinton has announced an update of the US export controls on computers to allow the US companies to sell much faster computer systems than previously allowed.

This is for the fifth time since 1993 that the President has issued a revision of US controls on computer exports.

"This action reflects the Clinton Administration’s efforts to ensure effective control on militarily sensitive technology while taking into account the increased availability of commodity products, such as servers and workstations, of which millions are manufactured and sold worldwide each year," the White House said in a sheet fact released recently.

The revised plan doubles the speed of computers that can be sold without the prior approval from the US government to approximately 50 countries in the "Tier 3" category. This includes Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam, and other countries in the Middle East and Central Europe, the White House said.

Computer speed is defined as millions of theoretical operations per second, or MTOPS. Under the new revisions, Tier 3 countries can buy computers with up to 28,000 MTOPS, the White House said. This eliminates a distinction in the previous regulations that set one limit for civilian users and a lower limit for military users.

The revision for these countries becomes effective in six months.

Countries included in the "Tier 2" category, such as those in Central and South America, South Korea, Estonia, most of Southeast Asia, and parts of Africa, will be permitted to buy computers with speed as high as 45,000 MTOPS — up from 33,000 MTOPS, the White Hose said. This revision becomes effective almost immediately.

Tier 1 countries — Western Europe, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Argentina — are permitted unrestricted computer purchases without any individual licence, but subject to government review, the White House said.

Vice President Al Gore, in a separate statement said the change in US export controls policy "will promote our national security, improve the effectiveness of our export controls, and increase the ability of the US high-tech companies to compete and win in global markets."

None of these revisions alter the current near embargo on computer exports to Tier 4 countries, which include Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya and Sudan, the White House said.

The following is a part of the text of the White House fact sheet, which concerns India:

Tier 3 (India, Pakistan, all Middle East/ Maghreb, the former Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, Central Europe): Based on President Clinton’s February 2000 decision, exports are permitted under license exception up to 12,500 MTOPS and individual licences are required for exports to military end-users above that figure. Exports under license exception are permitted for civil end-users between 12,500 MTOPS and 20,000 MTOPS, with exporter record keeping and reporting as directed. Individual licences are required for all end-users above 20,000 MTOPS.

The Administration will implement a single level, 28,000 MTOPS, above which individual licences will be required for all end-users in Tier 3 countries.

The Administration is removing the civilian and military end-user distinction in Tier 3 because the national security agencies have determined that the previous distinction (based on the judgment that there is a difference in the availability and ease of upgrade/assembly between four and eight processor systems) is no longer valid.

Agencies now judge that this distinction no longer exists due to improvements in, and worldwide availability of, single processors, boards, chipsets, and operating systems.