FCC Moves to Push Chinese Labs Out of US Device Certification: From Late 2028, Testing Must Show a 'Reciprocal Relationship'
Another move aimed straight at the supply chain. This time the target isn't chip exports — it's the test report that makes a device legal to sell in the US.
Three key facts
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to bar Chinese labs from compliance-testing electronics sold in the US. According to The Verge, the FCC has already decertified several Chinese test labs that improperly helped devices win import authorization, and the latest proposal goes much further: starting December 2028, only labs with a "reciprocal economic relationship" with the US would be authorized. The measure goes to a vote on October 29, and the FCC has published its full argument.
The regulatory path targets the "certification chain," not the "product chain." Phones, routers, laptops — essentially every electronic device with wireless capability — must pass electromagnetic-compatibility and radio-frequency tests at an authorized lab before entering the US market. Moving the testing step out of China is like blocking the front end of the whole compliance chain: the device itself is unchanged, but without a stamp from a recognized lab, it can't clear customs.
This is a continuation of a recent series, not an isolated event. The report notes that the FCC had already decertified two or more Chinese test labs. Meanwhile, US political circles have also been repeatedly acting on export controls, tariffs, and critical minerals. The policy goal is consistent: shrink China's role in the electronics supply chain.
Wang Dou's Take
First, be clear about one thing: this isn't hitting "quality," it's hitting "certification authority." Whether a device can be used depends on test data; whether the test data is trustworthy depends on who stamps it. The FCC's logic is blunt — if we don't let you stamp it, you move the testing business elsewhere, or you just don't sell.
The cleverest part is the timing. It doesn't take effect until December 2028, leaving more than two years of buffer. The message is clear: we're not cutting off your lifeline, we're giving you time to wean off it. For China's third-party testing firms, that's a two-year-early announcement that "this business may be gone"; for US vendors, it's a two-year-early nudge that "you'd better find somewhere else to test." Whoever moves first hurts less.
But the other side of the ledger matters too. A huge share of the world's electronics certification testing already happens in Chinese labs — low cost, fast turnaround. Move it to another country and vendors either eat higher costs or longer timelines, and that premium most likely lands on the retail price in the end. Cutting out the most efficient link by administrative force usually ends with the bill paid by the person buying the product.
Source: The Verge · FCC Filing