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CCRE Calls on House Armed Services Committee
to Support Immediate Implementation of New Export Control Thresholds
Washington, D.C. -- In today`s testimony before
the House Armed Services Committee, the Computer Coalition for
Responsible Exports (CCRE) called on Congress to move ahead with
approval of the Administration`s update of computer export control
regulations. In July, the Administration proposed raising the
computer export control threshold for Tier III countries from 2000
MTOPS (millions of theoretical operations per second) to 6500 MTOPS.
"Computers that will perform up to 6500 MTOPS
are widely available from U.S. and foreign manufacturers, as are the
components and know-how to manufacture such computers," said Dan
Hoydysh, CCRE Co-Chairman and Unisys Director of Trade Policy. The
CCRE testimony made the following four key points:
(1) the
July proposal to adjust the computer export controls is supported by
the technological and market trends of the global computer industry;
(2) the July proposal should be implemented immediately as
the present delay is hurting the U.S. computer industry with no
apparent benefit to national security;
(3) given the present
experience with the 180 day delay in implementing the adjustments to
the computer export controls, future Presidential proposals
adjusting the export control thresholds should only be subject to a
thirty day review period; and
(4) given the trends in
computer performance over the foreseeable future, a more responsive
and efficient export control regime needs to be developed.
"We hope that this Committee will agree with us that
ineffective unilateral U.S. controls that provide a competitive
advantage to foreign manufacturers will -- in the long run -- damage
our national security by eroding our technological pre-eminence. It
is our view that the proposal to raise the computer control
thresholds is a prudent response to technological, economic and
competitive realities and we, therefore, urge this Committee to
support the immediate implementation of the proposal," Hoydysh
continued.
"Tomorrow, October 29, 1999, will mark the 120
day anniversary of the announcement of the Administration proposal.
The delay is hurting U.S. computer companies. Sales are being lost,
market position is being hurt, long-term relationships with
distributors are suffering, and our foreign competitors are
positioning themselves to reap the benefits. Given this reality, we
urge the Congress and the Executive Branch, with the support and
assistance of the computer and other hi-tech industries, to begin a
bipartisan examination of other methods of achieving the national
security goals presently associated with computer export controls,"
he concluded.
CCRE members include Apple Computer, Inc.,
Compaq Computer Corporation, Data General Corporation, Dell Computer
Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM Corporation, Intel
Corporation, NCR Corporation, SGI, Sun Microsystems, Inc., Unisys
Corporation, the American Electronics Association (AEA), the
Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the
Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP), the Electronic Industries
Alliance (EIA), and the Information Technology Industry Council
(ITI). For more information about CCRE and the issues surrounding
export controls, visit the CCRE website at: www.ccre.net
For
more information about CCRE and the issues surrounding export
controls, visit the CCRE website at: www.ccre.net.
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