Regulation Relaxing Encryption Controls Near, Official Says

Administration seeks to match EU policy



Washington -- The Clinton administration has moved close to
implementing its July decision relaxing controls on U.S. encryption
software exports to the European Union (EU) and eight other countries,
a U.S. Department of Commerce official says.


At a September 13 meeting of the President's Export Council
subcommittee on encryption, James Lewis of the department's Bureau of
Export Administration (BXA) said the goal is to publish the new
regulation in the Federal Register by the end of the month.


The administration's decision was a response to the EU's adoption in
June of a similar directive relaxing encryption export controls, which
is expected to take effect September 28.


Under the new policy U.S. companies can export without a license any
encryption software to any end user, government or non-government, in
the EU as well as Australia, Norway, the Czech Republic, Hungary,
Poland, Japan, New Zealand and Switzerland. Also, the companies can
ship these products immediately and no longer must wait 30 days for a
technical review by the U.S. Department of Commerce.


Lewis said the regulation would eliminate a requirement for exporters
to report to BXA about shipments of personal computers and other
low-end computer products containing encryption. He said he expected
the change would eliminate the need for hundreds of thousands of
reports.


(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)