The United States House of Representatives’ Committee on China has sent a letter to Amazon, requesting the company to label the country of origin on each item sold, specifically mentioning the Chinese company TP-Link.
According to a letter obtained by Fox News Digital Channel, sent to Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy, on Monday (November 24), the committee chairman, Republican Representative John Moolenaar from Michigan, and senior member, Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, urged Amazon to clearly indicate the country of origin of products for sale. This includes disclosing the percentage of U.S.-made components and whether the sellers are U.S.-based entities or foreign entities.
The representatives singled out TP-Link, a company based in China that sells Wi-Fi routers and smart home devices on Amazon.
TP-Link routers, known for their affordability, hold about 65% of the market share in the United States for home and small business routers. Additionally, it is the preferred router brand on the e-commerce platform Amazon and provides network communication services to the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal government agencies.
Despite TP-Link’s claims of operating independently in the United States with headquarters based there, the lawmakers warned that any company associated with China is subject to the 2017 China Intelligence Law. This law requires individuals and entities to assist Chinese intelligence agencies when requested, potentially forcing them to share data or access permissions with Beijing.
Concerns escalated among bipartisan lawmakers following a series of attacks on TP-Link routers, worrying about security vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited by Chinese hackers to infiltrate and attack U.S. networks. In May, over a dozen Republican lawmakers, including Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, called for a ban on further sales of TP-Link products.
During his first term in office in 2019, President Trump signed an executive order authorizing an investigation into TP-Link. In 2024, the Biden administration officially launched the investigation, leaving further actions to a potential second Trump administration.
In their letter, the lawmakers emphasized the importance of providing Americans with the ability to easily choose not to purchase these products as reports continue to confirm the severity of the network threats posed by Chinese-manufactured devices like TP-Link, with the committee highlighting this issue last year.
The committee also wrote to the Federal Trade Commission, urging it to encourage all e-commerce platforms to adopt similar measures. They believed that even without new legislation, the FTC can use its existing consumer protection powers to require e-commerce platforms to disclose the country of origin of products.
In another letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, the committee called for the agency to push all online markets, including overseas platforms like Shein and Temu, to meet the same transparency standards.
“We need to rebuild American manufacturing and industrial capacity, ensuring that the economic benefits of a healthy domestic industrial base accrue to American families rather than ending up in the pockets of hostile nations,” the letter stated.
The lawmakers recommended Amazon make the following changes on its platform:
1. Clearly display the “country of origin” on prominent locations on each product detail page in a clear and standardized format.
2. Require sellers to report the percentage of U.S.-made components in products based on existing federal definitions and guidelines.
3. Clearly indicate whether sellers are U.S. companies or foreign entities, including disclosing ultimate beneficial ownership when sellers are associated with Chinese entities.
4. Create user-friendly, filterable search tools allowing customers to view only U.S.-manufactured products or exclude products from specific countries of origin.
5. Implement rigorous verification mechanisms to ensure sellers do not falsely report country of origin information, especially ensuring Chinese products are not incorrectly labeled as originating from a third country.
Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi believed that Amazon’s current system “often makes this information difficult to find or verify,” with many product details “buried in non-standardized sections,” or even completely omitted. They remarked that the lack of transparency prevents Americans from “choosing to support American workers and avoiding purchases from products coming from hostile countries.”
The lawmakers framed this issue as a dual priority for economic and national security, asserting that Americans should not “unwittingly purchase products ultimately controlled by companies based in hostile nations such as Communist China.”
They requested Amazon to respond in writing by December 15, detailing whether the company plans to implement proposed reforms and providing a specific timeline.
Simultaneously, lawmakers in Congress are ramping up scrutiny on Chinese manufacturing technology and supply chains. Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi stated that enhancing transparency not only helps American consumers make informed choices but also strengthens the foundation of American manufacturing.
The lawmakers concluded by saying, “American companies like Amazon can enhance U.S. economic strength and national security by simply adjusting how product information is presented.”
Amazon has not yet responded to Fox News regarding this matter.