Washington, D.C., Jan. 25, 1996 -- New regulations easing the export of high-speed computers were put in force by the Commerce Department Jan. 25. The new regulations, announced in October by the White House, attempt to boost computer exports while at the same time protecting the national security.

The rules allow companies to export most computers to Western Europe, Japan, Canada and Mexico, while continuing to ban shipments to Iraq, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Libya, Sudan and North Korea. Industry sources have estimated that the new rules will free $10 billion worth of exports from cumbersome regulations.

'These regulations give U.S. computer producers greater opportunity in the international marketplace,' said Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. Previous regulations had required individual licenses to export computers with performance levels above 1,500 million theoretical operations per second. The old regulations had been blamed by some U.S. companies for tying their hands while foreign competitors won contracts.

The new regulations eliminate all individual license requirements for exports to most industrialized nations, including countries in Western Europe, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Exports to a second group of nations, including South America, most of East Asia, South Africa and much of Eastern Europe, will require extra recordkeeping but no individual license for computers with performance up to 10,000 MTOPS.

Exports to civilian users in a third group of countries, including India, Pakistan, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Russia, China and Vietnam, will require a individual license only for computers above 7, 500 MTOPS. Exports are essentially banned to the fourth group of nations: Iraq, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Libya, Sudan and North Korea.

source