Where Industry and Security Intersect
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(Washington, DC) Secretary of Commerce Norman Y. Mineta today announced that the Department's Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) has completed its 100th end-use check of U.S. products exported to China - a milestone achievement in the Department's efforts to confirm that exports controlled for strategic reasons are being used only for civilian purposes. The checks were begun after President Clinton's June, 1998 summit in Beijing.
"Completion of our 100th check is a good sign of the cooperation that China and the United States have established. Such cooperation promotes the development of U.S. commercial trade with China, and ensures that U.S. businesses realize the greatest benefit from a Chinese civilian-based market while still protecting U.S. national security interests," Secretary Mineta said.
In an end-use check, a BXA representative visits end-users of U.S.-licensed items in China to confirm that the items are being used in accordance with the licenses for civilian purposes. Most of these checks were conducted on high-performance computers. The Commerce Department is working closely with its Chinese counterpart, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC), to complete remaining checks.
Commerce Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement F. Amanda DeBusk noted the working relationship between MOFTEC and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in achieving this milestone. "It was an arduous process to reach an agreement on conducting these checks - it took over 15 years and a number of Administrations. We believe that implementation of this agreement, and our relationship with China in these matters, is an on-going process that requires improvement. While there remains much to be done, MOFTEC and our representative in the American Embassy have cooperated well, and these checks have significantly advanced U.S. national security and trade interests."
In April of 2002 the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA)
changed its name to the Bureau of Industry and Security(BIS). For historical
purposes we have not changed the references to BXA in the legacy documents
found in the Archived Press and Public Information.