Implementation of the Foreign Availability Provisions of the Export Administration Act

At your request, Mr. Chairman, we are here to present the results of our work to date on the implementation of the foreign availability provisions of the Export Administration Act. Consideration of foreign availability of controlled items was made a permanent part of the law by the Export Administration Amendments of 1977. The Export Administration Act of 1979 contained additional requirements. The Export Administration Amendments Act of 1985 significantly strengthened statutory, foreign availability provisions. The Department of Commerce is required by the Act to initiate and review claims of foreign availability on goods and technologies controlled for national security purposes. Commerce's program of foreign availability assessment is intended to lead to the elimination of those export controls that are ineffective in achieving their national security objectives. Specifically the 1985 provisions require that: 1. Determinations and implementation of foreign availability be made more effectively and expeditiously. 2. Commerce's foreign availability division be upgraded to an office and the Secretary issue regulations for determining foreign availability. 3. Commerce annually review the goods' and technologies on the U.S. control list and assess foreign availability as part of such review. Under the 1979 Act, these reviews were required at least every 3 years. 4. When developing the list of military critical technologies, the Secretary of Defense consider the availability of controlled goods and related know how from third-country sources to controlled countries. Previously, availability had to be shown in the controlled countries. 5. Commerce be more responsive to the role of technical advisory committees actions. Perhaps no single case can better illustrate the problems in the foreign availability process than the one involving automatic wafer saw equipment.