A group of 17 Republican members of Congress, led by Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, sent a joint letter to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, on Wednesday, urging the ban of the sale of products by Chinese network equipment manufacturer TP-Link in the United States. The lawmakers highlighted the close ties between TP-Link and the Chinese authorities, posing significant risks to U.S. national security.
The signatories of the letter included 13 Senators such as John Barrasso from Wyoming, Ted Budd from North Carolina, Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, among others. On the House side, it was led by Riley Moore from West Virginia’s second district, with a total of 4 House members participating in the petition, including Gus Bilirakis from Florida’s twelfth district.
The letter pointed out that TP-Link is currently under a criminal antitrust investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for its market practices. The company not only undermines the competitiveness of U.S. domestic network equipment providers through low-cost sales and tariff evasion, but also raises widespread concerns in the cybersecurity sector.
The lawmakers emphasized that TP-Link currently holds nearly 60% of the market share in the U.S. residential router and Wi-Fi system market, aiding China in expanding its network espionage activities and potentially facilitating Chinese infiltration into critical U.S. infrastructure, paving the way for destructive attacks on U.S. domestic or allied communication networks in the future.
Furthermore, according to China’s National Security Law, TP-Link is obligated to cooperate with the Chinese government in providing technical assistance, intensifying concerns over potential security risks associated with its products. The letter also highlighted that TP-Link is currently the only router manufacturer that refuses to engage in industry cooperation and assist in patching zombie network vulnerabilities supported by the Chinese government.
Senator Cotton called on the Department of Commerce to immediately ban the sale of TP-Link’s SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) network equipment in the U.S. based on Executive Order 13873 issued by the Trump administration in 2019, authorizing the Department of Commerce to block any transactions deemed unacceptable risks to national security.
He warned that each day of delay would only allow China’s penetration capabilities to continue growing, not only harming U.S. business interests but also posing continuous high risks to national security. The joint letter concluded by acknowledging the Department of Commerce’s efforts to strengthen cybersecurity and supply chain security, emphasizing the vital importance of such actions for national security.
Last month, Senator Cotton stated on social media platform X that given China’s frequent cyber attacks against the U.S., the Trump administration’s investigation into the spy risk posed by Chinese-manufactured routers was a reasonable and necessary step.
He also shared a Bloomberg report indicating that TP-Link is undergoing a national security review by the U.S. government. Despite the company’s claims of cutting ties with its Chinese operations, its U.S. branch still maintains a significant amount of research and manufacturing facilities in China, relying on Chinese supply chains.
TP-Link is a network equipment and solutions provider founded in China in 1996, offering products ranging from wireless routers, switches to smart home devices. The company has been ranked as the world’s top global WLAN equipment shipper by the International Data Corporation (IDC) for 12 consecutive years, operating in over 170 countries worldwide and having operational bases in the U.S., Vietnam, among other locations.
In March of this year, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on U.S.-China Strategic Competition urged Americans to remove wireless routers made by Chinese companies from their homes, including routers manufactured by TP-Link.