High Technology Indexation Act of 1993

Summary: High Technology Indexation Act of 1993 - Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to change from discretionary to mandatory the Secretary of Commerce's authority to establish indexing standards which provide for automatic increases (instead of currently authorized annual increases) in the performance levels of certain goods or technology subject to export licensing controls. Requires removal from the commodity control list of goods or technology which no longer require licensing under the increased performance level standards, unless the Secretary reports to specified congressional committees that removal of controls will permit exports detrimental to U.S. national security or U.S. policies. 
Directs the Secretary to require technical advisory committees to recommend indexing standards for certain goods or technology. 
Requires the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register a performance-based indexing system to ensure that the definition of "supercomputer" and all controls and security safeguard procedures on supercomputer exports or reexports are commensurate with technological advances.  Sets forth circumstances under which such safeguards are not required.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``High Technology Indexation Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. INDEXING STANDARDS.

    Section 5(g) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 
App. 2404(g)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(g) Indexing.--
            ``(1) Removal of obsolete requirements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In order to ensure that 
                requirements for validated licenses and other licenses 
                authorizing multiple exports are periodically removed 
                as goods or technology subject to such requirements 
                become obsolete with respect to the national security 
                or the policies of the United States, not later than 6 
                months after the date of enactment of the High 
                Technology Indexation Act of 1993, the Secretary shall 
                establish, in response to recommendations of technical 
                advisory committees under paragraph (2), indexing 
                standards which provide for increases in the 
                performance levels of goods or technology described in 
                paragraph (2)(A) that are subject to any such licensing 
                requirements.
                    ``(B) Emphasis.--The indexing standards required 
                under subparagraph (A) shall emphasize the technical 
                specifications of goods or technology below which no 
                authority or permission to export is required.
                    ``(C) Removal of controls.--With respect to goods 
                or technology referred to in subparagraph (B) which no 
                longer require licensing under the increased 
                performance level standards established in accordance 
                with subparagraph (A)--
                            ``(i) the removal of controls on exports of 
                        such goods or technology to controlled 
                        countries shall be incorporated into United 
                        States proposals to all multilateral regimes; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) controls under this section on 
                        exports of such goods or technology to 
                        countries other than controlled countries shall 
                        be removed, after consultations with the 
                        multilateral regimes, as appropriate, unless--
                                    ``(I) the Secretary, after 
                                consultation with the Secretary of 
                                Defense, the Secretary of State, and 
                                the heads of other appropriate 
                                executive departments (as defined in 
                                section 101 of title 5, United States 
                                Code), makes a determination that 
                                removal of controls on the goods or 
                                technology will permit exports that 
                                will be detrimental to the national 
                                security or the policies of the United 
                                States; and
                                    ``(II) the Secretary reports that 
                                determination in writing, together with 
                                a description of the specific 
                                anticipated impact on the national 
                                security or the policies of the United 
                                States, to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs of the House of Representatives 
                                and the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                                and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
                    ``(D) Other considerations.--The Secretary shall 
                also consider, where appropriate, eliminating site 
                visitation requirements for goods and technology from 
                which export controls have been removed under this 
                paragraph.
            ``(2) Recommendations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In carrying out this subsection, 
                the Secretary shall direct the technical advisory 
                committees appointed under subsection (h) to recommend 
                indexing standards for goods or technology--
                            ``(i) which are eligible for export under a 
                        distribution license;
                            ``(ii) which are eligible for favorable 
                        consideration under the rules of the 
                        Coordinating Committee;
                            ``(iii) below which exports require only 
                        notification of the governments participating 
                        in the Coordinating Committee; and
                            ``(iv) below which no authority or 
                        permission to export may be required under this 
                        section.
                    ``(B) Submission and determination of acceptance.--
                The technical advisory committees shall submit their 
                recommendations for indexing standards as they are made 
                to the Secretary, who shall determine, not later than 
                30 days after each submission, or not later than 45 
                days after a submission in the event of an objection by 
                the head of any other executive department, whether to 
                accept the standards or to refer them back to the 
                appropriate technical advisory committee for further 
                consideration.
                    ``(C) Timing of proposals.--The proposals referred 
                to in paragraph (1)(C)(i) shall be made at the next 
                meeting of the Coordinating Committee, or any other 
                multilateral regime, at which list review is conducted, 
                that is held after the indexing standards established 
                under this subsection are applied to the goods or 
                technology involved.
            ``(3) Policies.--For purposes of this subsection, the term 
        `policies of the United States' means foreign policy and the 
        non-proliferation policies referred to in section 6.''.

SEC. 3. SUPERCOMPUTER EXPORTS.

    (a) Supercomputer Exports and Reexports.--Section 5(a) of the 
Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 2404(a)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) Supercomputer definition.--
                    ``(A) Performance-based indexing system.--The 
                Secretary shall, not later than 6 months after the date 
                of the enactment of this paragraph, publish in the 
                Federal Register a performance-based indexing system in 
                order to ensure that the definition of `supercomputer' 
                under paragraph (6)(A) and all controls and security 
                safeguard procedures applicable to supercomputer 
                exports and reexports are commensurate with 
                technological advances in the supercomputer industry.
                    ``(B) Security safeguard procedures.--Under the 
                indexing system published in accordance with 
                subparagraph (A), for destinations in any country 
                (other than a controlled country) that is a party to 
                and, as determined by the President, is adhering to the 
                Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 
                (done at Washington, London, and Moscow on July 1, 
                1968) or the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear 
                Weapons in Latin America (done at Mexico on February 
                14, 1967), no security safeguard procedures may be 
                required in connection with any export or reexport of a 
                supercomputer with a composite theoretical performance 
                at or below approximately 15 percent of the composite 
                theoretical performance of the average of the 2 most 
                powerful supercomputers currently available 
                commercially in the United States or elsewhere.
                    ``(C) Advisory committee input.--Before publishing 
                the performance-based indexing system under 
                subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall seek the views of 
                the appropriate technical advisory committees appointed 
                under subsection (h), and other interested parties.
                    ``(D) Reports to congress.--Not later than 2 weeks 
                after publication of such system in the Federal 
                Register, the Secretary shall submit a written report 
                to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                and Urban Affairs of the Senate, that includes--
                            ``(i) the text of the Federal Register 
                        notice;
                            ``(ii) a summary of the views expressed by 
                        the technical advisory committees and other 
                        interested parties with respect to the 
                        performance-based indexing system; and
                            ``(iii) a description of how the 
                        performance-based indexing system addresses the 
                        views of the technical advisory committees 
                        appointed under subsection (h) and other 
                        interested parties.
                    ``(E) Definition.--For purposes of this paragraph, 
                the term `security safeguard procedures' means 
                procedures that are required by the Department of 
                Commerce, as a condition of an authorization to export 
                or reexport a supercomputer, primarily to restrict 
                access to and resale of such supercomputer.''.