[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2231 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2231

 To amend the Export Administration Act of 1979 to require reviews of 
                      the commodity control list.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 4, 1995

  Mr. Mineta introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Export Administration Act of 1979 to require reviews of 
                      the commodity control list.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Technology Export Review Act''.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL REVIEW OF CONTROLLED ITEMS.

    Section 4 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 
2403) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Control List Review.--
            ``(1) In general.--In order to ensure that requirements for 
        validated licenses to export are periodically removed as goods 
        and technology become obsolete with respect to the specific 
        objectives of the export controls requiring such licenses, the 
        Secretary shall conduct periodic reviews of such controls 
        imposed under sections 5 and 6. The Secretary shall complete 
        such a review not later than 6 months after the date of the 
        enactment of this subsection, and not later than the end of 
        each 1-year period thereafter.
            ``(2) Review elements.--In conducting each review under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall do the following with 
        respect to the export controls requiring a license described in 
        paragraph (1):
                    ``(A) Objectives of controls.--The Secretary shall 
                identify the specific objectives of the export 
                controls, for the 12-month period following the 
                completion of the review, for each country or group of 
                countries for which a validated license is required. 
                When an objective of an export control is to defer the 
                development of a specific capability in such country or 
                group of countries, the Secretary shall specify for 
                what period of time the controls are expected to defer 
                such capability.
                    ``(B) Quantity and performance.--The Secretary 
                shall estimate, for the 12-month period described in 
                subparagraph (A), the quantities and performance (as 
                specified in specific performance parameters on the 
                control list) of the goods and technology to which the 
                controls apply that must be obtained by each country or 
                group of countries for which a validated license is 
                required in order to defeat the objectives of the 
                export controls.
                    ``(C) Availability to controlled destinations.--The 
                Secretary shall evaluate the effectiveness of the 
                export controls in achieving their specific objectives, 
                including explicit descriptions of the availability 
                from sources outside the United States, or from sources 
                inside the United States resulting from the inability 
                of the United States Government to effectively enforce 
                controls, during the 12-month period described in 
                subparagraph (A), to controlled countries of goods and 
                technology to which the export controls apply.
                    ``(D) Economic impact.--The Secretary shall 
                evaluate the economic impact, during the 12-month 
                period described in subparagraph (A), of the export 
                controls on exporting companies, including estimates of 
                lost sales, loss in market share, and administrative 
                overhead.
            ``(3) Changes in controls.--
                    ``(A) Changes.--After completing each review under 
                this subsection, the Secretary shall, if warranted by 
                the findings of the review and after consultation with 
                appropriate departments or agencies--
                            ``(i) eliminate the requirement for an 
                        export license for a particular good or 
                        technology;
                            ``(ii) make such a good or technology 
                        eligible for delivery under a distribution 
                        license or other license authorizing multiple 
                        exports;
                            ``(iii) eliminate a performance threshold 
                        or other characteristic upon which the 
                        requirement for a validated license for such a 
                        good or technology is based; or
                            ``(iv) increase the performance levels at 
                        which an individual validated license for such 
                        a good or technology is required, at which it 
                        is eligible for delivery under a distribution 
                        license, or at which special conditions or 
                        security safeguard plans are imposed as a 
                        condition of export.
            ``(4) Hearings.--The Secretary shall conduct public 
        hearings not less than once each year in order to solicit 
        information from all interested parties on all matters to be 
        addressed in each review conducted under this subsection.
            ``(5) Removal of controls on mass-market products.--
                    ``(A) Mass-market products defined.--For the 
                purposes of this paragraph, the term `mass-market 
                product' means any good or technology sold, licensed, 
                or otherwise distributed as a discrete item and which 
                will have been distributed for end use outside the 
                United States in a quantity exceeding 100,000 units 
                over a 12-month period, as determined under 
                subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Anticipatory review of mass-market 
                products.--Not later than--
                            ``(i) 6 months after the date of the 
                        enactment of this subsection, and
                            ``(ii) the end of each 1-year period 
                        thereafter,
                the Secretary shall, in consultation with the 
                appropriate technical advisory committee, industry 
                groups, and producers, identify those items described 
                in subparagraph (A) (including products differentiated 
                on the control list according to specific performance 
                parameters) that will be distributed for end use 
                outside the United States in a quantity exceeding 
                100,000 units beginning on the applicable date 
                described in clause (i) or (ii). For purposes of this 
                paragraph, estimates of numbers of items that will be 
                distributed shall be based on reliable estimates 
                provided by producers of such items.
                    ``(C) Action by the secretary.--Not later than 30 
                days after an item is determined by the Secretary under 
                subparagraph (B) to be a mass-market product, the 
                Secretary shall propose to any group of countries which 
                imposes export controls on the item cooperatively with 
                the United States the elimination of controls on the 
                item in accordance with the procedures of such group, 
                and shall publish a notice of such proposal in the 
                Federal Register.
            ``(6) Relationship to other provisions.--The requirements 
        of this subsection are in addition to any other requirements of 
        this Act. The Secretary may coordinate reviews under this 
        subsection with reviews conducted under section 5(c).''.

SEC. 3. EQUAL TREATMENT OF COMPONENTS.

    Section 4 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i) Treatment of Semiconductors.--The export control treatment 
imposed under the authority of this Act upon semiconductor devices 
shall be no more restrictive or burdensome to the exporter than the 
export control treatment imposed under the authority of this Act upon 
computer systems or telecommunications systems for which the 
semiconductor devices serve or can serve as components.''.
                                 <all>