FCC Bars Chinese Labs From Testing Electronics for the U.S. Market

The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to bar all Chinese labs from testing electronic devices for use in the United States, expanding a previous agency action aimed at Beijing.

The vote covers smartphones, cameras, computers and other devices that need FCC authorization before they can be sold in the country. Testing labs and certification bodies in China and other countries that deny reciprocal treatment to U.S.-based test labs will no longer be recognized. The prohibitions are slated to take effect in December 2028.

Under the draft order, the restrictions apply to new equipment authorization applications received after December 1, 2028. Existing product certifications are preserved.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr said 82% of electronics were tested in China in 2025, while about 4% were tested in labs inside the United States. China does not have an agreement with the United States on reciprocal testing, he said.

“These labs are a critical gateway into American communications infrastructure — and their privileged role gives them access to sensitive and confidential information about electronic products often months before the devices enter the market,” Carr said. He said they could “allow insecure gear into the US market, disrupt communications networks, or even steal intellectual property.”

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.

What changes, and what does not

The rule turns on where testing takes place, not only on who owns a lab. It limits FCC recognition to labs in the United States and in what the order calls “Reciprocal Economies” — places with a mutual recognition agreement or a comparable reciprocal trade arrangement with the United States. That list includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as Canada, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and European Union member states. Mainland China is not on it.

The same geographic limit applies to telecommunications certification bodies, which evaluate applications and grant certifications, and to laboratory accreditation bodies.

The FCC also streamlined its approval process for devices tested in U.S. labs or in labs from countries not posing national security risks, according to Reuters.

The vote goes further than a 2025 FCC action that banned testing of U.S. electronics by labs owned or controlled by the Chinese government. Several dozen labs were barred under that action, but a substantial majority of China-based test labs kept testing U.S. electronics, Reuters reported.

Manufacturers that rely on Chinese labs now have about two years to move that testing elsewhere. With only a small share of testing done inside the United States today, much of it will have to shift to labs in reciprocal economies or to expanded U.S. facilities.