China Demands U.S. Revoke FCC Ban on Chinese Electronics Test Labs

Photo: Federal Communications Commission, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain (official portrait, January 2025). FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

China on Friday, Oct. 30, demanded that the United States “immediately revoke” a Federal Communications Commission rule that will stop labs in mainland China from testing and certifying electronics sold in America. The FCC adopted the rule on Oct. 29. From Dec. 1, 2028, it will recognize only test labs, certification bodies and accreditation bodies in the U.S. or in “reciprocal economies” that recognize American labs in return, according to the FCC’s order (FCC 26-73), released Oct. 30.

The FCC Chinese test labs ban does not stop the sale of Chinese-made phones, laptops or routers. It changes where devices that emit radio signals must be tested before the agency authorizes them for the U.S. market, which covers almost every wireless gadget sold in the country.

What the FCC rule does

The order, formally the Third Report and Order in ET Docket No. 24-136, ends recognition of labs in non-reciprocal countries automatically on Dec. 1, 2028. The FCC said the uniform transition gives manufacturers time to qualify other labs and lets labs in the U.S. and partner countries add capacity “without disturbing existing equipment grants.” Law firm Covington & Burling’s analysis says the ban is expected not to affect authorizations granted, or applications received, before December 2028.

A reciprocal economy is one with a mutual recognition agreement or a comparable government-to-government deal with the U.S. on equipment authorization. The order’s Appendix D lists them, including European Union members, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Mainland China and India are not on the list, Caixin reported, putting the approved list at more than 60 countries and regions.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, in a statement attached to the order, said earlier “bad labs” actions had removed 32 labs controlled by foreign adversaries and called the new step “consistent with President Trump’s broader efforts to restore balance and fairness with respect to America’s trade policy.”

By the numbers: testing moved to China

The FCC’s own data explain why Beijing is protesting. The commission recognizes 609 test labs: 25.1% are in China, 18.4% in Taiwan and 17.9% in the U.S. But measured by where testing actually happens, China dominates. In 2007, U.S. labs handled the largest share of equipment-authorization testing, about 31%, with Taiwan at about 20% and China at about 13%. By 2025, China’s share had risen to 82.3% while the U.S. share fell to 3.6%, Taiwan’s to about 8% and South Korea’s to about 2%. “As late as 2007, the plurality of testing occurred in U.S.-based Test Labs – but flash forward to today and only 3.6% of testing occurs in the United States, while 82.3% occurs in China,” Carr said.

By TBR’s calculation from those figures, China’s share grew more than sixfold in 18 years, and the U.S. share shrank by close to nine-tenths. Over the same period, the FCC said, annual equipment-authorization applications rose from about 9,400 to 46,900, roughly a fivefold increase, so the absolute volume of testing done in China grew even faster than its share.

Beijing’s response

China’s Commerce Ministry said in a spokesperson Q&A posted late Oct. 30 that the FCC had “frequently” issued China-related restrictions in disregard of China’s repeated representations and against “the important consensus reached by the two heads of state.” The ministry said China had “already taken countermeasures” against earlier steps, without naming them. It said China had repeatedly proposed talks on a bilateral mutual-recognition agreement but that the U.S. side was “extremely passive.” It urged Washington to revoke the measures and warned that “if the U.S. insists on going its own way, China will take further necessary measures.” The quotes are TBR translations from Chinese, and the ministry’s account of earlier offers of talks has not been independently confirmed.

At the Foreign Ministry’s regular briefing the same day, spokesperson Guo Jiakun answered a Reuters question. “The U.S. is overstretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to go after Chinese businesses,” he said, adding that China “will do what is necessary to firmly defend its legitimate and lawful rights and interests.”

Costs, delays and the industry record

The FCC acknowledged pushback in its record. A Chinese machinery and electronics trade chamber predicted testing costs two to three times higher and delays of eight to 12 weeks, while other commenters predicted price increases of 20% to 400% and delays of several weeks to several months. The commission said those estimates use different units and baselines and “do not support a reliable aggregate estimate,” but accepted that the rule “may impose material adjustment costs on some firms.” It quoted Chinese lab LCTECH Guangdong Testing as warning that “eliminating China’s efficient and large-scale testing capacity will cause bottlenecks in product certification.”

Next: Chinese carriers and U.S. phone numbers

The test-lab rule is one of several FCC moves aimed at Chinese firms. The commission said Oct. 29 that it will vote Nov. 19 on a proposal to bar China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom and other providers from direct access to U.S. phone numbers, Reuters reported. “With this decision, the FCC will be strengthening our first line of defense against bad actors and illegal robocallers,” Carr said in a statement. The FCC has already barred the three state-owned carriers from providing international telecommunications services to the United States, Reuters noted. The Foreign Ministry’s response above covered both steps. For more on China this week, see our reports on the Communist Party’s fifth plenum and China’s experimental spaceplane.

Sources

• FCC: Third Report and Order, FCC 26-73 (ET Docket No. 24-136), with Chairman Carr’s statement
• China Ministry of Commerce: spokesperson Q&A on the FCC test-lab measures (Chinese)
• China Foreign Ministry: Oct. 30, 2026 press conference transcript
• Covington & Burling, Inside Global Tech: FCC adopts new rules limiting certain foreign test labs

Additional sources

• Caixin Global: FCC votes to ban Chinese labs from testing electronics for U.S. market
• Reuters via Investing.com: U.S. plans to ban Chinese telecom firms from direct access to U.S. phone numbers