The Obama administration is about to ease rules on exporting sensitive technology.

President Barack Obama wants to consolidate some enforcement activities into one agency and develop a list that better defines which product or technology sales would be restricted. Over the years federal agencies have developed "very different control lists, with agencies fighting over who has jurisdiction.

This meant that decisions were delayed, sometimes for years, and industries lost their edge or moved abroad. Obama said goal of the new system was to "build higher walls around the export of our most sensitive items while allowing the export of less critical ones under less restrictive conditions."

Technology outfits claimed that if the change of rules goes ahead it could result in billions of dollars of extra dollars in sales. It could mean that it would be legal to export a second hand Commodore 64 to Iran.