I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5374 

To provide for export approvals for high-performance computers to India. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023 

Mr. MEEKS (for himself and Mr. BARR) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide for export approvals for high-performance 

computers to India. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Technology Exports 

5 to India Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) In 2016, the United States designated India 

9 a U.S. Major Defense Partner, providing it access to 

10 a wide range of military and dual-use items regu11 lated by the Department of Commerce. 


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1 (2) For items controlled for national security 

2 reasons by the Department of Commerce, India is 

3 subject to a general policy of approval for licenses 

4 for civil or military end uses in India or for the Gov5 ernment of India so long as the items are not for 

6 nuclear, missile or chemical or biological activities. 

7 (3) However, currently the export of high-per8 formance computers meeting certain specifications to 

9 India requires authorization of the United States 

10 Government under section 1211 of the National De11 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (50 

12 U.S.C. App. 2404 note). 

13 (4) Under Department of Commerce regula14 tions, the restricted high-performance computers in15 clude such commodities as digital computers, elec16 tronic assemblies, and related equipment controlled 

17 under Export Control Classification (ECCN) 4A003. 

18 (5) Destination countries listed as ‘‘Computer 

19 Tier 3’’ eligible countries in section 740.7(d) of title 

20 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations, such as 

21 India, cannot receive such commodities, software, or 

22 technology without a Department of Commerce li23 cense, with limited exceptions for deemed exports. 


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1 (6) The Bureau of Industry and Security of the 

2 Department of Commerce has issued only a few li3 censes for exports of such commodities to India. 

4 (7) The President does not currently have the 

5 authority to remove or delete India from the ex6 cluded ‘‘Computer Tier 3’’ eligible countries list. 

7 (8) In January 2023, the United States and 

8 India announced the elevation of a strategic partner9 ship with an initiative on critical and emerging tech10 nology (iCET). 

11 (9) As part of this initiative, the United States 

12 and India emphasized a commitment to resolving 

13 issues related to regulatory barriers to jointly 

14 strengthen our innovation landscape, increase de15 fense cooperation and develop resilient supply 

16 chains. 

17 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) greater technological and defense coopera20 tion with India is critical to tackling shared geo21 political and security challenges; 

22 (2) it is important to reduce regulatory barriers 

23 to technological cooperation with India in ways that 

24 enhance our national security and advance strategic 

25 priorities; 


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1 (3) providing the President with the flexibility 

2 to export high-performance computers to India 

3 would bolster United States-India technological co4 operation and demonstrate Congress’s commitment 

5 to India as a strategic partner; and 

6 (4) removing India from the ‘‘Computer Tier 

7 3’’ eligible countries list in section 740.7(d) of title 

8 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations would help to 

9 strengthen the bilateral relationship. 

10 SEC. 4. EXPORT APPROVALS FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE 

11 COMPUTERS TO INDIA. 

12 Section 1211(e)(3) of the National Defense Author13 ization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 (50 U.S.C. App. 2404 

14 note) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘A country’’ and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A country’’; 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘(A) the country’’ and inserting 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) the country’’; 

21 (3) by striking ‘‘(B) the country’’ and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(ii) the country’’; and 

24 (4) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub2 paragraph (A), a country may be removed from 

3 the list of covered countries under subsection 

4 (b) if the Department of Defense, the Depart5 ment of State, and the Department of Com6 merce recognize the status of the country as a 

7 ‘Major Defense Partner’ pursuant to section 

8 1258(b) of the National Defense Authorization 

9 Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (22 U.S.C. 2751 

10 note).’’. 

Æ 


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