Deemed Export Controls May Not Stop the Transfer of Sensitive Technology to Foreign Nations in the U.S

摘要

The Inspectors General of the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, and State, in consultation with the Director of Central Intelligence and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are required by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2000 to conduct an 8-year assessment of the adequacy of current export controls and counterintelligence measures to prevent the acquisition of sensitive U.S. technology and technical information by countries and entities of concern. The NDAA mandates that the Inspectors General report to the Congress no later than March 30 of each year, until 2007, on the status of efforts to maintain and improve export controls. The United States controls the export of sensitive goods and technologies for national security, foreign policy, antiterrorism, and nonproliferation reasons under the authority of several different laws. The primary legislative authority is the Export Administration Act of 1979. Under the act, the Commerce Departments Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) administers the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by developing export control policies, issuing export licenses, and enforcing the laws and regulations for dual-use exports. Export controls of technical data apply to a wide variety of information, including technology related to the design, development, and use of certain products such as computers, semiconductors, integrated circuits, lasers, and sensors. According to the EAR, any release to a foreign national of technology or software subject to the regulations is deemed to be an export to the home country of the foreign national. These exports are commonly referred to as deemed exports, and may involve the transfer of sensitive technology to foreign visitors or workers at U.S. private, public or government research laboratories and private companies. In FY 2003 BIS processed 12,446 export license applications; approximately 846 (7 percent) were for deemed exports.