Undersea Cable Control Act

The Undersea Cable Control Act would require the President, through the Commerce Department in coordination with the State Department, to develop and pursue a strategy aimed at cutting off foreign adversaries from items needed to build, maintain, or operate undersea cables. The strategy would be tied to U.S. export control policy and would identify specific items, current and potential export controls, allies with significant market shares, and negotiations to create unified controls. It also directs the government to identify entities controlled by foreign adversaries involved in undersea cables, promote U.S. leadership in international standards bodies, and monitor foreign adversaries’ engagement in those standards processes. The bill sets reporting and enforcement mechanisms: regular reports to Congress beginning within 180 days of enactment and annually for three years (unclassified, with a possible classified annex, and publicly posted), plus an effort to establish bilateral or multilateral agreements with allies to eliminate access to the identified items, including penalties for noncompliance. It directs the Commerce Department to evaluate whether to add the identified items to the Commerce Control List (part of the Export Administration Regulations), determine appropriate levels of control, and provide annual unclassified notifications describing items evaluated and the rationale for actions taken. (Note: The text indicates the bill passed the House and was introduced in the Senate for consideration, with no sponsor named in the provided document.)