BXA OFFICIAL PRESSES FOR EXPORT LEGISLATION

BXA OFFICIAL PRESSES FOR EXPORT LEGISLATION    A U.S. Bureau of Export Administration official told trade executives that the U.S. export controls system is operating in emergency mode based on cold-war legislation.
   If Congress does not pass the Export Administration Act of 2001, American national security, in addition to the U.S.’s power in global commerce, could be compromised, said James Jochum, assistant secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, speaking at the Joint Industry Group meeting Tuesday.
   Jochum said the act, which goes into committee review by the House Armed Services Committee today, goes before the House vote next week.
   The bill overwhelmingly passed the U.S. Senate.
   The act would offer more severe punishment, he said. Violation could be punished to up to $1 million for individuals and up to $5 million for corporations. “It gives us a deterrent effect,” he said of the Act.
   Jochum said that, to maintain a system of export controls after Sept. 11, President Bush was forced to declare a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), passed in 1979.
   Operating under this rule does not ensure national security nor safeguard export controls, Jochum said, as terrorists can buy whatever they want and distribute throughout their networks.
   “The 1979 Act has expired six times since,” he said, referring to the legislation’s antiquity.