White House crypto proposal -- too little, too late

[Timothy C. May]

At 8:50 PM -0700 10/1/96, John Anonymous MacDonald wrote:

>I don't doubt that they can do this if they really want to, but I
>wonder what legal basis they will use for import restrictions.
>
>Are there any current import restrictions for products on can legally
>manufacture, sell, and use in the United States?

Automobiles, computers, chips, steel, tobacco, televisions....

All have had, or still have, various "import restrictions." Sometimes
quotas, sometimes heavy duties, sometimes complete bans. Sometimes the
rationale was that foreign nations were "dumping," but often the real
rationale was protectionism.

(This may not have been the type of example the questioner was asking
about, but it fits the definition of "import restrictions." In fact, the
whole raison d'etre of "U.S. Customs" is to control imports as well as
exports, and certainly not just "illegal imports.")

There are also various animals which may not be imported, various
agricultural products which may not, etc., even if the animals and
agricultural products may be found in the U.S. (Examples: various reptiles,
tropical birds, endangered species, etc.)

--Tim May



We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay at got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1,257,787-1 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."