The Federal Communications Commission will vote this month on whether to ban some testing labs based in China from approving electronics products meant for import to the US.
The May 22 vote could affect products ranging from smartphones to game consoles to cameras that manufacturers pay to have tested for safety, performances and standards such as radio frequency interference. According to the FCC, 75% of this kind of electronics testing is done out of labs based in China.
“While the FCC now includes national security checks in our equipment authorization process, we have not had rules on the books that require the test labs conducting those reviews to be trustworthy actors,” wrote Brendan Carr, chair of the FCC, in a post about the vote and other upcoming FCC actions.
Carr said currently “bad labs” participate in the approval and testing process, a loophole he said the vote would help close.
“The order would adopt a rule that prohibits test labs from participating in the FCC’s equipment authorization process if they are owned, controlled, or directed by entities that pose national security risks,” Carr said.
According to Carr’s post, the FCC is also opening comments for a separate action that would put together a list of what he called “regulated entities that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary.”
The moves could keep more electronics made or tested in China from reaching the US. In 2022, the FCC banned Huawei and ZTE electronics over the same kinds of national security risks. Since then, steep tariffs have been enacted against China in an ongoing trade war with the country.