U.S. tightens grip on undersea cables to block China, Russia

What it does

This bill requires the President to develop a strategy to prevent foreign adversaries (primarily China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) from obtaining goods and technologies needed to build, maintain, or operate undersea cables—the fiber-optic lines that carry most global internet and telecommunications traffic. The bill mandates the administration identify critical items, coordinate with allies on export controls, negotiate multilateral agreements to restrict sales, and evaluate whether to add technologies to the U.S. Commerce Control List. The strategy must be reported to Congress within 180 days and annually for three years.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is export control policy—identifying critical undersea cable technologies and restricting their sale to foreign adversaries through multilateral coordination. This is a core national security function, not a subsidy, deregulation, or private carve-out.

What the text implies

• The bill may indirectly benefit U.S. telecommunications and defense contractors by creating a protected market for undersea cable equipment and services, as foreign competitors lose access to certain technologies and markets.
• Aggressive export controls on undersea cable technologies could slow global internet infrastructure development in non-aligned countries, potentially widening the digital divide and increasing U.S. geopolitical leverage over telecommunications routes.

The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.

Who stands to gain

U.S. telecommunications equipment manufacturers; U.S. defense contractors with undersea cable expertise; U.S. and allied cable operators and internet service providers