[ABS News Service/02.11.2026]
The Federal
Communications Commission has voted unanimously to bar Chinese laboratories
from testing
electronic devices for the US market, adopting sweeping restrictions that will
require manufacturers to shift certification work to the United States or
countries offering reciprocal recognition to US testing facilities.
The rules,
effective December 1, 2028, extend beyond the FCC's earlier prohibitions on laboratories
owned or controlled by foreign adversaries. They will exclude testing
laboratories, telecommunications certification bodies and accreditation
organizations operating in countries without qualifying reciprocal arrangements
with the United States, regardless of individual ownership.
The decision
could significantly reshape the electronics testing industry. FCC Chairman
Brendan Carr said 82 percent of electronic devices were tested in China in
2025, while fewer than 4 percent were tested in the United States.
In its 81-page
Third Report and Order, adopted October 29 and released October 30, the Commission
said the concentration of testing in countries without reciprocal agreements
had created security vulnerabilities and disadvantaged American laboratories.
“Access should
come with accountability, and recognition should come with reciprocity,” the
Commission
declared.
No Confidence
in Testing
The FCC said it
lacked confidence in testing conducted in jurisdictions where the United States
has neither direct regulatory authority nor reciprocal government-to-government
arrangements supporting oversight and enforcement. The agency warned that
unreliable testing could permit devices that violate radio-frequency exposure
limits or interfere with emergency communications, aviation systems and
critical infrastructure.
The action
reverses a decades-long liberalization of the equipment authorization program.
In 2014, the FCC established a pathway for accredited laboratories in countries
without mutual recognition agreements to perform testing for US certification.
The Commission now argues that this arrangement allowed foreign laboratories to
compete for American testing business without granting US laboratories comparable
access to their domestic markets.
The Commission
acknowledged that the earlier liberalization followed industry objections that reciprocity
requirements increased costs, reduced competition and encouraged duplicative
testing.
The FCC has
already removed 29 laboratories from its recognized testing network under restrictions
adopted in May 2025 against facilities owned, controlled or directed by
designated national security threats. The agency also reported withdrawing
recognition from two laboratories in nonreciprocal economies and initiating
proceedings against two others over duplicated or falsified test results.
Testing
Irregularities
In its October 29
announcement, the FCC said those testing irregularities threatened “consumer safety
and communication network integrity.”
The new
restrictions apply to testing and certification activities supporting
authorization of smartphones, computers, connected devices and other
radio-frequency equipment. They do not constitute a general prohibition on
electronics manufactured in China.
The Commission
established a transition period through December 1, 2028, to allow manufacturers
to qualify alternative laboratories and eligible facilities to expand capacity
without disturbing existing equipment grants.
China's Commerce
Ministry criticized the decision Friday, saying Beijing had previously proposed
negotiating a bilateral mutual-recognition agreement but received an
unfavorable response from Washington. The ministry urged the United States to
withdraw the restrictions and warned of countermeasures if the measures proceed
unilaterally.
The order also
clarifies that companies operating globally may continue testing equipment for FCC
authorization in eligible jurisdictions even if they conduct unrelated testing
in nonreciprocal
countries. The
FCC declined to prohibit all laboratories with ownership links to nonreciprocal
economies, leaving that broader restriction for further consideration.
The accompanying
Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on requiring Legal
Entity Identifiers to improve ownership verification, extending restrictions to
additional foreign-controlled entities, strengthening post-market surveillance
and modernizing the FCC's Equipment Authorization System.
The Commission's
decision combines national security screening with a trade-reciprocity requirement,
shifting the burden of equipment testing away from China while leaving
manufacturers approximately two years to reorganize their certification
arrangements.