The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States announced on Wednesday, October 7th, that it will vote on October 29th to ban all Chinese (CCP) laboratories from conducting compliance testing on electronic equipment destined for the United States, such as smartphones, cameras, computers, and other electronic products. This move further expands the scope of bans that the agency has imposed on China.
The FCC stated that for countries, including China, that refuse to grant reciprocal treatment to American local testing laboratories, the FCC will prohibit their laboratories from providing compliance testing for certain electronic products used in the United States and will also prohibit institutions from these countries from certifying these products.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr pointed out that in 2025, 82% of electronic products sold in the United States were tested in China, with no relevant agreement reached between China and the United States.
If approved by the vote, the FCC’s ban will go into effect in December 2028.
The FCC has previously taken similar actions. In 2025, the agency issued a ban on laboratories owned or controlled by the Chinese government, prohibiting several dozen such laboratories from testing American electronic products. However, the FCC stated this year that the vast majority of Chinese laboratories are still conducting tests on American electronic products.
Carr stated, “Less than 4% of all electronic devices are tested in labs within the United States.”
The FCC leader also mentioned that the FCC will “insist on fair and reciprocal treatment in international business activities.”
On the other hand, FCC is adopting a simplified approval process for certain testing laboratories, including those in the United States and those from countries that do not pose a national security risk to the United States.
This is the latest move by the United States to combat the CCP on technology and equipment issues.
Last December, the FCC banned the import of all new models of Chinese drones and consumer-grade routers manufactured in China.
Previously, for national security considerations, the FCC also prohibited some Chinese companies from providing telecommunications services in the United States.
In July this year, the FCC voted to prohibit the sale of certain equipment in the United States that contains key hardware produced by Chinese companies, deemed to pose a risk to U.S. national security. The FCC also proposed to ban U.S. telecom operators from interconnecting with certain Chinese telecom companies for the same reason, as these Chinese companies are believed to pose a risk to U.S. national security.
FCC has a corporate blacklist that includes Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE. Due to national security concerns, the FCC prohibits the sale of equipment from these companies in the United States.
In June this year, the FCC banned the import of more equipment manufactured by a group of Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE. The FCC has also proposed an import ban on most military-grade drones.
(This article referenced reporting from Reuters)