On January 2, 2025, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPRM“) seeking public comments to inform the potential development of a rule to safeguard the information and communications technology and services (“ICTS”) supply chain for unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”), pursuant to the authority of Executive Order 13873. This follows other recent developments in the ICTS regime, including the December 6, 2024 Final Rule amending the review process for ICTS transactions discussed in our blog, here, and the January 16, 2025 Final Rule securing the ICTS supply chain for connected vehicles.
The UAS proposed rule seeks to address the undue or unacceptable risks to US national security posed by certain transactions involving ICTS integral to UAS when the ICTS are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of foreign adversaries, which currently include the People’s Republic of China, the Hong Kong SAR, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and the Maduro Regime of Venezuela.
To support BIS’ potential development of such rule, BIS seeks public comments on several issues related to ICTS transactions, including the following:
- A definition of “unmanned aircraft systems” to include all system elements, not just the vehicle itself, use in a potential rule regarding ICTS transactions integral to UAS;
- Assessments of how potential classes of ICTS transactions integral to UAS may present undue or unacceptable risks to US national security;
- Evaluations of risks posed by different foreign adversaries, including requests for information, access to data and cybersecurity risks;
- Data collection and connectivity capabilities of UAS that may increase the likelihood of vulnerabilities that an adversarial actor could exploit;
- How UAS Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) may impact UAS functionality through their incorporated ICTS components;
- Potential mechanisms for the public to request approval to engage in an otherwise prohibited transaction; and
- The economic impact that any regulation of transactions involving foreign adversary ICTS integral to UAS could have on certain entities, and, where feasible, potential mitigation measures.
Public comments for the ANPRM can be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at docket number BIS-2024- 0058 or emailed to UnmannedAircraftSystems@bis.doc.gov through March 4, 2025.
