The Customs Service enforces export-control laws, and Dennis H. Murphy, a spokesman for the agency, said it was shifting its priorities to focus on machinery, equipment and technology sought by terrorists.

But supercomputers like the ETA-10 are still likely to be subject to restrictions, and Government officials said that they would still enforce export-control laws.

But now a Federal grand jury is investigating whether McDonnell Douglas or its Chinese partner, the procurement arm of the Chinese Aviation Ministry, knowingly violated American export-control laws.

Similarly, patent applicants should be aware of the arms export-control laws that may restrict the types of technical information that can be disclosed to any foreign nationals.

India enacted an export-control law last spring.

He added that "it punished companies for violations committed" before Japan's new, relatively strict export-control law was passed.

Although the extent of the illegal shipments is uncertain, Nobel Industries Sweden A.B. admitted in March that its Bofors subsidiary had contravened Sweden's strict arms export-control laws.

Most of those sought for violations of the export-control laws are foreign nationals who use third parties in the United States to buy sensitive equipment and then divert it once it gets to Europe or South America.

But "the Russians need to make a kind of fundamental decision on getting more serious and cracking down on those who violate their own export-control laws," the second senior official said.

International The Administration plans to rewrite export-control laws.