Export regulations are imposed on restricted countries, and these regulations are monitored for compliance by the BIS. These regulations outline legal requirements for exporting or re-exporting various products and technologies. When dealing with a restricted country, being aware of the regulations is very important. Failure to comply with export regulations can result in fines, loss of export licenses, or even imprisonment, all of which can vary depending on the nature of the incident and the restricted country involved.

Based on the three categories in Table 1 Intel adheres to the following technology restrictions (not all-inclusive):

High Performance Computing (HPC) countries: Currently Intel identifies and maintains a list of ~140+ countries as HPC. An export license is required to export or re-export HPC technology, generally involving design collateral for advanced chipsets. The BIS has a specific formula for calculating computer performance measured in Weighted TeraFLOPS (Trillion Floating point Operations per Second) that also sets boundary conditions for specific technologies that are applied across all restricted countries.

Controlled Countries (CC): Of the 21 countries on the list, Intel has facilities in nine of the CCs. Export licenses are required to export or re-export CPU design or manufacturing information, encryption products and technology, and HPC technology. Intel also has several export licenses that enable limited R&D and coordination throughout the company on new product development.

Embargoed Countries: US companies and individuals are prohibited from doing business with countries embargoed by the BIS. There are no license exemptions for these countries, and there is a presumption of denial for all exports and re-exports of products and technologies.

Intel has to abide by US regulations when exporting US technology from the US directly to a restricted country. However, when Intel is re-exporting US technology from within a restricted country to another restricted country we have to abide by both US regulations and any export or import regulations imposed by the countries involved.

For example, if we have an export license to export high-end chipsets with embedded encryption from the US to Russia and then that same product or technology is re-exported from Russia to Vietnam, we have to have an export license for Vietnam to comply with US export regulations. Russia may have additional export laws that Intel has to comply with, and Vietnam may have import regulations as well.

BIS also maintains a definitive list of Non-Controlled Countries (Non-CC) that are not considered restricted and generally there are no export restrictions when dealing with Non-CCs (e.g., Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States). Export restrictions are however applicable any time a Non-CC is dealing with any of the other three categories of restricted countries. Note that other regulatory agencies (i.e., Department of State, Office of Foreign Asset Control, or Department of Treasury) might impose regulatory restrictions on these countries that are not covered by BIS restrictions.

The Global Trade group within Intel is responsible for tracking the frequent export regulation changes, assessing the impact to Intel's business activities, and implementing control processes as required. Intel has an excellent relationship with BIS officials and routinely meets with licensing officers to resolve questions and obtain export license approvals. Intel's proactive efforts continue to be one of our key successes in working with or in restricted countries, something that is demonstrated by the various export licenses that we currently have in place among HPC countries and CCs.

Bilateral and multilateral requirements are in place in every aspect of Intel's business (e.g., sales and marketing, research and development, assembly and test, manufacturing, etc.) that are governed by specific export requirements, and determining these requirements ahead of time is crucial.