Computer and Communications Trade Freedom Act

Summary: Computer and Communications Trade Freedom Act - Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to declare that no validated license or reexport authorization may be required for the export or reexport for the consumption or use in any country (other than a targeted country) of currently controlled computers, telecommunications equipment, and semiconductors (unless they are subject to missile technology controls). 
Prohibits the United States from:  (1) proposing to the Coordinating Committee (COCOM) the transfer of such items from the Industrial List of the COCOM to the International Munitions Lists of the COCOM; or (2) agreeing to any proposal for such transfer. Prohibits the control on the export or reexport of such items under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Trading with the Enemy Act, or any other law that would control such exports. 
Declares that nothing in this Act shall prohibit the Secretary of Commerce from requiring a validated license for exports to:  (1) a country against which the United States maintains an embargo; or (2) a party lawfully denied export privileges under this Act. 
Directs the President to negotiate with COCOM and other relevant multilateral export control regimes to attain agreement on applying export controls consistent with this Act.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Computer and Communications Trade 
Freedom Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Increased communications and exchange of information 
        through computer and telecommunications networks promotes the 
        development of democratic political institutions, free market 
        reforms, and economic modernization; nevertheless, computers, 
        telecommunications, semiconductor, and related equipment, 
        software, and technology account for more than 85 percent of 
        the value of exports controlled by the United States Department 
        of Commerce under the Export Administration Act of 1979.
            (2) The computer, telecommunications, and semiconductor 
        industries account for $55,000,000,000 in exports and 12.3 
        percent of all of the export trade of the United States. These 
        sectors represent over 850,000 jobs in the United States.
            (3) The rapid pace of technological development and the 
        dramatic reductions in product innovation cycles for these 
        products have rendered any system for controlling their export 
        meaningless.
            (4) The availability of advanced computer, 
        telecommunications, and semiconductor products from sources of 
        supply other than the United States and members of the 
        Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Countries 
        (COCOM) exists, and the perpetuation of export controls on 
        these products disadvantages United States exporters to the 
        detriment of the domestic economy, United States innovation, 
        and employment of American workers in these 3 industries and in 
        those United States industries which are the suppliers and 
        customers of these industries.

SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF EXPORT CONTROLS ON COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONIC 
              EQUIPMENT.

    Section 4 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 
2401) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(h) License Authority for Computers, Telecommunications 
Equipment, and Semiconductors.--
            ``(1)(A) No validated license or reexport authorization may 
        be required for the export or reexport (as the case may be), 
        for consumption or use in any country other than a targeted 
        country, of any product or related software or technology that 
        is or would be classified under the following entries of the 
        control list as in effect on July 1, 1993, except for any such 
        product or related software or technology to which missile 
        technology controls apply under the control list:
                    ``(i) Computers and related equipment under 
                Category 4, code letter A.
                    ``(ii) Telecommunications and related equipment 
                under Category 5, Part I.
                    ``(iii) Semiconductors, as follows:
                            ``(I) Items 3A01A.a, 3A02A.h, 3A92F, and 
                        all integrated circuits or their 
                        microelectronic devices classified under 3A96G.
                            ``(II) Items 3D01A related to 3A01A.a and 
                        3A02A.h, 3D03A, 3D94F, and 3D96G related to 
                        integrated circuits or other microelectronic 
                        devices classified under 3A96G.
                            ``(III) Items 3E01A related to 3A01A.a and 
                        3A02A.h, 3E02A, 3E94F related to 3A92F, and 
                        3E96G related to integrated circuits or other 
                        microelectronic devices classified under 3A96G.
            ``(B) The United States shall not propose (or ask any other 
        government to propose) to the Coordinating Committee the 
        transfer of any item subject to subparagraph (A) from the 
        Industrial List of the Coordinating Committee to the 
        International Munitions List of the Coordinating Committee.
            ``(C) The United States shall not agree to any proposal to 
        transfer any item subject to subparagraph (A) from the 
        Industrial List of the Coordinating Committee to the 
        International Munitions List of the Coordinating Committee.
            ``(2) No control on the export or reexport of any good or 
        technology for which no license or authorization may be 
        required under paragraph (1)(A) may be imposed, directly or 
        indirectly, under the International Emergency Economic Powers 
        Act, the Trading with the Enemy Act, or other provision of law, 
        other than in connection with a prohibition on all or 
        substantially all exports to a specific country, government, 
        entity, or person.
            ``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the 
        Secretary from requiring a validated license for exports to (A) 
        a country against which the United States maintains an embargo 
        of all or substantially all exports, or (B) a party lawfully 
        denied export privileges under this Act.
            ``(4) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 
        `targeted country' means any country--
                    ``(A) the government of which the Secretary of 
                State has determined, under section 6(j), to be a 
                government that has repeatedly provided support for 
                acts of international terrorism; or
                    ``(B) which is subject to an embargo--
                            ``(i) which has been imposed by the United 
                        Nations on all or substantially all exports to 
                        that country; and
                            ``(ii) in which the United States is 
                        participating.
            ``(5) The provisions of this subsection apply 
        notwithstanding any other provision of this Act.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) For Amendment.--The amendment made by section 3 shall take 
effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Interim Negotiations.--Upon the enactment of this Act, the 
President shall undertake negotiations with the Coordinating Committee 
for Multilateral Export Controls (``COCOM'') and other relevant 
multilateral export control regimes for the purpose of attaining 
agreement among the members of COCOM and such other regimes to apply 
export controls consistent with the amendment made by section 3. 
Whether such agreement is attained shall not affect the effective date 
set forth in subsection (a).