In March 2004, a report by the US Department of Commerce (DOC) office of the inspector general recommended changes to the department’s “deemed exports” policy, rules that are intended to keep researchers from restricted countries from taking knowledge about controlled technology from the US back to those countries. At first glance, the proposed changes seemed less than momentous.
One recommendation was to change an “and” to an “or” in a regulation governing the use of research equipment by foreign nationals. Another called for classifying foreign nationals based not on their current citizenship or permanent residence, but on their country of birth.
A year later, when DOC issued a request for comments on the inspector general’s recommendations, officials in scientific societies, academic organizations, industrial groups, and even some Department of Energy laboratories realized the implications would be anything but trivial. E-mails were sent, meetings were held, and within several weeks of...
