Sponsors (3)
The bill tightens protections and oversight for undersea cable supply chains and increases transparency to bolster national security, while imposing compliance and export constraints that could raise costs, complicate procurement, and delay projects.
Telecom and infrastructure providers in the U.S. and allied countries gain clearer protections against foreign-adversary-controlled suppliers for undersea cable components, reducing supply-chain risk to critical communications infrastructure.
The Department of Commerce will improve export-control coordination by evaluating items for the Commerce Control List with explicit consideration of end‑use and end‑user risks, strengthening federal oversight of sensitive technology transfers.
Congress and the public gain greater transparency through mandated unclassified annual reports (with optional classified annex) posted publicly for three years, improving accountability around export controls and supply‑chain risks.
Suppliers and manufacturers may face new export restrictions that raise costs and cause delays for undersea cable projects, increasing prices and slowing deployment or repairs of critical telecommunications infrastructure.
Increased government scrutiny and regulatory controls could impose significant compliance burdens on companies, slowing procurement, cable repairs, and upgrades.
U.S. firms may lose access to foreign suppliers or markets if multilateral controls carry broad penalties, adding procurement complexity and limiting supplier options.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the executive branch to develop and pursue a strategy to prevent foreign adversaries from obtaining items needed for undersea cable projects and to seek allied export-control agreements.
Requires the President, through the Secretary of Commerce and coordinating with the Secretary of State, to develop and publish a strategy to stop foreign adversaries from obtaining items needed to build, maintain, or operate undersea cable projects. The strategy must identify relevant items and controls, map allied suppliers and market shares, note entities tied to foreign adversaries, and describe U.S. engagement at international standards bodies; it must be delivered within 180 days and updated annually for three years. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to evaluate items for export controls under the Export Administration Regulations, consider adding items to the Commerce Control List, adopt a baseline policy with allies on embargoed countries, and provide annual unclassified notifications for three years. The President must also seek bilateral or multilateral agreements with allies to eliminate adversary access and brief Congress regularly until agreements are reached.
Introduced March 31, 2025 by Thomas Kean · Last progress September 3, 2025