Clifford Chance

Foreign threats to the US information and communications technology and services (ICTS) supply chain constitute a national emergency. Executive Order 13873, titled "Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain," issued on May 15, 2019 (EO), first declared the emergency and granted the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) the authority to regulate ICTS transactions involving "foreign adversaries" that may pose undue or unacceptable risk to the United States or US persons. Following publication of an Interim Final Rule on January 19, 2021, the Department of Commerce (Department) implemented the EO in the Final Rule on December 6, 2024 (Final Rule). The Final Rule goes into effect on February 3, 2025.

This briefing provides an overview of the Final Rule introduced by the Department of Commerce, other regulatory efforts focused on safeguarding ICTS for national security reasons and ICTS-related developments impacting the automative sector.