Summary: The National Critical Technologies Panel, the Defense Department, and the Department of Commerce have each developed lists of defense-related and commercial technologies of major importance to the U.S. national interest. This report (1) determines the extent to which key U.S. officials and industry representatives used five federal processes for collecting and disseminating foreign technology information as well as in developing the federal critical technologies lists, (2) identifies the sources and nature of the foreign technology information used to develop the federal critical technologies lists, and (3) presents the views of U.S. officials and industry representatives on opportunities to improve federal processes for collecting foreign technology information. GAO also provides information on the (1) disparity in the number of researchers and students exchanged between the United States and Japan and (2) nature of selected U.S. private sector efforts to collect and disseminate foreign technology information.
