FCC proposal to bar Chinese labs from certifying US electronics remains in play
The agency voted unanimously in April to advance the plan and finalized a related national-security rule in May, with no later vote confirmed since.
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The Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 on April 30 to advance a proposal that would bar all labs based in China and Hong Kong from testing and certifying electronics sold in the United States, citing national security, according to the South China Morning Post.
The agency has said about 75% of electronics are currently tested in Chinese labs, Reuters reported via The Standard. On May 22, the FCC separately finalized a narrower rule barring Chinese labs it deems a national security risk from certifying US-bound devices. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said at the time the agency was "addressing another potential loophole in our national security process," according to Reuters.
That loophole-closing effort follows an earlier FCC move that barred 23 labs owned or controlled by the Chinese government from testing US electronics, and a 2021 decision to add Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua to the agency's list of companies deemed national security risks, Reuters reported.
The broader push targets device certification labs rather than tariffs or export controls, so it sits apart from the chip-export and trade-truce issues that have dominated US-China diplomacy this year, a year marked mostly by de-escalatory signals, tariff exemptions, an AI crisis mechanism and summits planned for November and December. It also echoes other recent curbs, including China's September travel restrictions on AI experts. Coming after repeated statements from both Trump and Xi about progress and stability, a widened barrier aimed at Chinese labs cuts against that friendlier tone even as it leaves the trade progress already announced intact.