[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57806-57807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22763]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Industry and Security
[Docket No. 211013-0208]
RIN 0694-XC077
Notice of Virtual Forum for Risks in the Information
Communication Technology Supply Chain
AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Technology
Evaluation, U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of virtual forum.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is announcing a
virtual forum that will occur on October 29, 2021, and that will allow
participants to provide recommendations to strengthen the resiliency of
critical supply chains supporting the U.S. information and
communications technology (ICT) industrial base that are at risk of
disruption, strain, compromise, or elimination. See Background for the
definition of ICT industrial base. This notice sets forth the
procedures for public participation in the virtual forum.
DATES:
Virtual forum: The virtual forum will be held on October 29, 2021.
The virtual forum will begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
and conclude at 12:00 p.m. EDT. Registration for the virtual forum:
Requests to attend the virtual forum must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. EDT
on October 27, 2021. Speaker requests must be submitted by 5:00 p.m.
EDT on October 22, 2021. See the ADDRESSES section of this notice for
more information regarding registration. Registration for the virtual
forum will open on October 14, 2021.
Confirmation of registration and/or speaking slot: The Department
will contact each person that has been confirmed to provide oral
comments in the virtual forum by email no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on
October 26, 2021.
ADDRESSES: BIS has created a web page on the BIS website for the
virtual forum. This web page will be used by the public to register for
the virtual forum, including submitting requests to speak at the
virtual forum. The landing page for the virtual forum will be accessed
through this web page on https://www.bis.doc.gov/ictforum.
Click on the link for `Register for the Virtual Forum' on this web
page to register for the virtual forum. People interested in providing
oral statements during the virtual forum should make this request when
registering for the virtual forum, including submitting a brief
overview of their anticipated remarks.
After registration is completed by the Department, this web page
will include the agenda and the list of the scheduled speakers for the
virtual forum. Registered attendees will receive an email notification
from BIS with information needed to access the virtual forum on October
28, 2021. Registrants that requested to provide oral comments at the
virtual forum will be notified by email if their request has been
accepted and will be provided the allotted amount of time for their
comments at the virtual forum. Anyone not selected to make a
presentation may provide written comments and submit those in response
to the notice of request for public comments entitled Risks in the
Information Communications Technology Supply Chain (86 FR 52127)
(September 20 Notice) by the comment deadline of November 4, 2021. See
the September 20 Notice for instructions on submitting written
comments. Participants should be prepared to attend the virtual forum
in its entirety as allotted speaker time slots are subject to change
and the program will continue if a speaker is not available when called
to speak. Within 7 business days after the virtual forum is completed,
BIS will add a link to a recording of the virtual forum and a written
transcript to make the recording physically accessible to people with
disabilities.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erika Maynard, Defense Industrial Base
Division, Office of Technology Evaluation, Bureau of Industry and
Security, at 202-482-5572 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 24, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14017,
``America's Supply Chains'' (86 FR 11849) (E.O. 14017), which directs
several Federal agency actions to secure and strengthen America's
supply chains. E.O. 14017 focuses on the need for resilient, diverse,
and secure supply chains to ensure U.S. economic prosperity and
national security. Such supply chains are needed to address conditions
that can reduce U.S. critical manufacturing capacity, as well as the
availability and integrity of critical goods, products, and services.
In relevant part, E.O. 14017 directs that within one year of the date
of the order, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in consultation with the heads of appropriate agencies, shall
submit a report to the President, through the Assistant to the
President for National Security Affairs (APNSA) and the Assistant to
the President for Economic Policy (APEP), on supply chains for critical
sectors and subsectors of the ICT industrial base (as determined by the
Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security),
including the industrial base for the development of ICT software,
data, and associated services.
On September 20, 2021, BIS published a notice of request for public
comments, Risks in the Information Communications Technology Supply
Chain (86 FR 52127) (the September 20 Notice). The September 20 Notice
requests comments and information from the public to assist the
Department of Commerce (the Department) in preparing the report
required by E.O. 14017.
In developing this report, the Secretary of Commerce and the
Secretary of Homeland Security will consult with the heads of
appropriate agencies and will be advised by all relevant bureaus and
components of the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security.
BIS is publishing this notice to announce a virtual forum that will
occur on October 29, 2021, that will allow selected speakers to address
the policy objectives listed in E.O. 14017 including recommendations to
strengthen the resiliency of critical supply chains supporting the U.S.
ICT industrial base that are at risk of disruption, strain, compromise
or elimination. For the purposes of the report, the scope of the ICT
industrial base shall consist of component hardware that enables
terrestrial distribution, broadcast/wireless transport, satellite
support, data storage to include data center and cloud technologies,
and end user devices including home devices such as routers, antennae,
and receivers, and mobile devices; and software and services that have
direct dependencies on one or more of the enabling hardware. Examples
of component hardware include printed circuit boards and fiber optic
cables, electronic
[[Page 57807]]
manufacturing services and assembly, and downstream products such as
networking devices and radio base stations. BIS is particularly
interested in recommendations to strengthen the critical supply chains
of the ICT industrial base as defined in the report. This notice sets
forth the procedures for public participation in the virtual forum.
Virtual Forum
Consistent with the interest of the Department in soliciting public
comments on issues affecting risks in the manufacturing of ICT products
and critical supply chains as described in the September 20 Notice, the
Department is holding a virtual forum. The virtual forum will assist
the Department in preparing the report required by E.O. 14017. Oral
comments at the virtual forum should address the policy objectives
listed in E.O. 14017 as they affect the U.S. ICT supply chains,
including recommendations to strengthen critical, at-risk supply
chains. See the September 20 Notice and E.O. 14017 for the policy
objectives. The virtual forum will be held on October 29, 2021. The
forum will begin at 9:00 a.m. EDT and conclude at 12:00 p.m. EDT.
Procedure for Requesting Participation
See the ADDRESSES section of this notice for how to register and
access the virtual forum. The Department encourages interested public
participants to present their views orally at the virtual forum. Any
person wishing to make an oral presentation at the virtual forum must
register with the Department at the web address indicated in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice. The request to speak in the virtual
forum must be accompanied by an overview of the oral presentation.
Speakers' registration, including overviews of planned remarks, must be
received by the Department no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on October 22,
2021. BIS will not accept any registrations after that time for the
virtual forum.
Please note that the submission of overviews of presentations at
the virtual forum is separate from the request for written comments
described in the September 20 Notice. Since it may be necessary to
limit the number of persons making presentations, the overview of the
presentation should describe the individual's interest in the virtual
forum and, where appropriate, explain why the individual is a proper
representative of a group or class of persons that has such an
interest. If all interested parties cannot be accommodated at the
virtual forum, the overviews of the oral presentations will be used to
allocate speaking time and to ensure that a full range of comments is
heard.
Each person selected to make a presentation will be notified by the
Department no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on October 26, 2021. The
Department will arrange the presentation times for the speakers.
Representatives from the Department and other U.S. Government agencies,
as appropriate, will make up the virtual forum panel. Written overview
submissions by persons not selected to make presentations will be made
part of the public record of the proceeding, as will the overview
submission of those persons selected to make presentations.
Confidential business information may not be submitted at a virtual
forum. The virtual forum will be recorded.
Copies of the requests to speak at the virtual forum and the
transcript of the forum will be maintained on BIS's web page, which can
be found at https://www.bis.doc.gov (see Freedom of Information Act
link at the bottom of the page) and at https://www.bis.doc.gov/ictforum. These documents will also be posted through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov under docket number
BIS-2021-0021, which is the docket number for the September 20 Notice.
If the requesters cannot access the website, they may call (202) 482-
0795 for assistance. The records related to this assessment are made
accessible in accordance with the regulations published in part 4 of
title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations (15 CFR 4.1 through 4.11).
Conduct of the Virtual Forum
The Department reserves the right to select the persons to be heard
at the virtual forum, to schedule their respective presentations, and
to establish the procedures governing the conduct of the virtual forum.
Each speaker will be limited to a time set by the Department and
comments must be directly related to the policy objectives listed in
E.O. 14017 as they affect the U.S. ICT supply chains, including
recommendations to strengthen critical, at-risk supply chains.
A Department official will be designated to preside at the virtual
forum. The presiding officer shall determine all procedural matters
during the virtual forum. Representatives from the Department, and
other U.S. Government agencies, as appropriate, will make up the
virtual forum panel. This will be a fact-finding proceeding. It will
not be a judicial or evidentiary-type virtual forum. Only members of
the virtual forum panel may ask questions and there will be no cross-
examination of persons presenting statements. No formal rules of
evidence will apply to the virtual forum. Any further procedural rules
for the proper conduct of the virtual forum will be announced by the
presiding officer.
Special Accommodations
This virtual forum is physically accessible to people with
disabilities. See the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Matthew S. Borman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-22763 Filed 10-14-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P