U.S. Adds Limits
On Sales to China
Of Military Items
ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 18, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration announced it was tightening controls on exports to China of a range of high-technology products that could be used by the military.
The regulation, scheduled to take effect this week, also will create a new category for authorized Chinese customers that will reduce the paperwork necessary to purchase high-tech products from the U.S.
"This new rule strikes the right balance in our complex relationship with China," U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said. "The steps we are taking today are good for national security and for American exporters and jobs."
Mr. Gutierrez said the regulation would make it easier for U.S. companies to sell to prescreened customers while at the same time denying China access to U.S. technology that would contribute to the country's military modernization program.
The new military end-use controls will affect aircraft and aircraft engines, avionics and inertial navigation systems, lasers, depleted uranium, underwater cameras and propulsion systems, certain composite materials and some telecommunications equipment that can be used for space communications and air-defense systems.
The Commerce Department said the list was developed with input from experts at the departments of Commerce, Defense and State and was designed to target items that aren't widely available on world markets. U.S. export controls are administered by Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.
The new validated end-user program will facilitate sales of products to trusted customers in such areas as electronics, semiconductors and chemicals. |