What This Bill Does
This bill requires the President to create a plan to stop foreign adversaries from getting goods and technologies used to build, maintain and operate undersea cables (underwater cables that carry internet and communications). The President must work with the Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce to develop this strategy and report back to Congress.
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Who It Affects
The President and the federal agencies he directs (specifically the Departments of State and Commerce). Congress members on the Foreign Affairs Committee (House) and the Foreign Relations and Banking committees (Senate). Companies that export or transfer undersea cable technologies. Foreign countries considered adversaries.
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Key Provisions
• The President must create a strategy to prevent foreign adversaries from accessing goods and technologies that support undersea cables, following U.S. policy on export controls (Sec. 2(a))
• The strategy must identify what goods and technologies are used for undersea cables, what export controls the U.S. currently has in place, and which U.S. allies also make these goods and technologies (Sec. 2(b))
• The President must identify all entities controlled by or influenced by foreign adversaries that work on undersea cables (Sec. 2(b)(5))
• The Secretary of Commerce must review undersea cable technologies to decide if they should be added to the Commerce Control List, which restricts what can be exported (Sec. 2(e))
• The President must report to Congress within 90 days and then once a year for three years about the strategy and actions taken (Sec. 2(c))
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What Changes
If this becomes law, the federal government will conduct a formal review of undersea cable technologies to determine export restrictions. The government will seek agreements with allied countries to prevent adversaries from accessing these technologies. Annual reports will be made public on a government website explaining which technologies are controlled and why.
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Important Definitions
"Foreign adversary" means any country listed in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, and specifically includes the People's Republic of China (Sec. 2(f)(2))
"Appropriate congressional committees" means the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations and Banking committees (Sec. 2(f)(1))
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
IIB
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1189
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 28, 2023
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
AN ACT
To require the development of a strategy to eliminate the
availability to foreign adversaries of goods and tech-
nologies capable of supporting undersea cables, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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HR 1189 RFS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Undersea Cable Con-
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trol Act’’.
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SEC. 2. STRATEGY TO ELIMINATE THE AVAILABILITY TO
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FOREIGN
ADVERSARIES
OF
GOODS
AND
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TECHNOLOGIES CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING
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UNDERSEA CABLES.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the
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Secretary of State and in consultation with the Secretary
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of Commerce, shall develop a strategy to eliminate the
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availability to foreign adversaries of goods and tech-
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nologies capable of supporting undersea cables consistent
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with United States policy described in section 1752 of the
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Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4811).
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(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The strategy re-
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quired under subsection (a) shall include the following:
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(1) An identification of goods and technologies
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capable of supporting the construction, maintenance,
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or operation of an undersea cable project.
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(2) An identification of United States and mul-
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tilateral export controls and licensing policies for
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goods and technologies identified pursuant to para-
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graph (1) with respect to foreign adversaries.
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(3) An identification of United States allies and
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partners that have a share of the global market with
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respect to the goods and technologies so identified,
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HR 1189 RFS
including a detailed description of the availability of
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such goods and technologies without restriction in
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sufficient quantities and comparable in quality to
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those produced in the United States.
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(4) A description of ongoing negotiations with
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other countries to achieve unified export controls
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and licensing policies for goods and technologies so
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identified to eliminate availability to foreign adver-
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saries.
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(5) An identification of all entities under the
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control, ownership, or influence of a foreign adver-
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sary that support the construction, operation, or
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maintenance of undersea cables.
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(6) A description of efforts taken to promote
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United States leadership at international standards-
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setting bodies for equipment, systems, software, and
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virtually defined networks relevant to undersea ca-
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bles, taking into account the different processes fol-
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lowed by such bodies.
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(7) A description of the presence and activities
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of foreign adversaries at international standards-set-
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ting bodies relevant to undersea cables, including in-
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formation on the differences in the scope and scale
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of the engagement of foreign adversaries at such
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bodies compared to engagement at such bodies by
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the United States and its allies and partners, and
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the security risks raised by the proposals of foreign
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adversaries at such bodies.
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(c) REPORT.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after
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the date of the enactment of this Act and annually
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thereafter for 3 years, the President shall submit to
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the appropriate congressional committees a report
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that contains the strategy required under subsection
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(a).
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(2) FORM.—Each report required under this
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subsection shall—
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(A) be submitted in unclassified form, but
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may contain a classified annex; and
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(B) be made available on a publicly acces-
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sible Federal Government website.
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(d) AGREEMENT.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after
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the date of the enactment of this Act, the President
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shall seek to—
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(A) establish bilateral or plurilateral agree-
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ments with allies and partners identified pursu-
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ant to subsection (b)(3) to seek to eliminate the
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availability to foreign adversaries of goods and
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HR 1189 RFS
technologies identified pursuant to subsection
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(b)(1); and
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(B) include in such agreements penalty
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provisions for non-compliance.
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(2) BRIEFINGS.—The President shall brief the
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congressional committees specified in subsection
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(c)(1) on negotiations to establish agreements de-
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scribed in paragraph (1) beginning not later than 30
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days after the date of the enactment of this Act and
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every 180 days thereafter until each such agreement
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is established.
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(e) ACTIONS.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce
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shall evaluate the export, reexport, and in-country
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transfer of the technologies identified pursuant to
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subsection (b)(1) for appropriate controls under the
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Export Administration Regulations, including by
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evaluating, for each technology so identified, whether
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to add the technology to the Commerce Control List
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maintained under title 15, Code of Federal Regula-
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tions.
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(2) LEVELS OF CONTROL.—
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(A) IN
GENERAL.—In determining the
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level of control appropriate for technologies
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identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1), includ-
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HR 1189 RFS
ing requirements for a license or other author-
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ization for the export, reexport, or in-country
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transfer of any such technology, the Secretary
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of Commerce (in coordination with the Sec-
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retary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and
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the heads of other Federal agencies, as appro-
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priate) shall take into account the potential end
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uses and end users of the technology.
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(B) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—At a min-
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imum, it is the policy of the United States to
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work with its allies and partners to control the
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export, reexport, or in-country transfer of tech-
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nologies identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1)
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to or in a country subject to an embargo, in-
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cluding an arms embargo, imposed by the
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United States.
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(3) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 1 year
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after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually
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thereafter for 3 years, the President, acting through
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the Secretary of Commerce, shall submit to the ap-
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propriate congressional committees an unclassified
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notification describing the results of actions taken
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pursuant to this subsection in the preceding period,
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including a description of—
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(A) the individual items evaluated for con-
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trols;
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(B) the rationale, including foreign avail-
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ability and economic impact assessments, for
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adding or not adding an item to the Commerce
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Control List maintained under title 15, Code of
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Federal Regulations, pursuant to the evaluation
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under paragraph (1) with respect to such item;
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and
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(C) reviews by the End-User Review Com-
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mittee specified in Supplement No. 9 to part
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748 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations,
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with respect to the use of items identified pur-
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suant to subsection (b)(1) by entities under the
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influence, control, or ownership of a foreign ad-
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versary.
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(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
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TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
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mittees’’ means—
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(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
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the House of Representatives; and
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(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations
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and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
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Urban Affairs of the Senate.
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(2) FOREIGN ADVERSARY.—The term ‘‘foreign
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adversary’’—
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(A) has the meaning given such term in
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section 8(c) of the Secure and Trusted Commu-
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nications Networks Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C.
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1607(c)); and
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(B) includes the People’s Republic of
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China.
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Passed the House of Representatives March 27,
2023.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.
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