FCC to Vote Oct. 29 on Ending Recognition of Mainland China Device Test Labs, Effective December 2028
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission will vote on October 29 on a draft order that, starting December 1, 2028, would limit FCC recognition of equipment testing laboratories and certification bodies to those in the United States and in economies that have reciprocal arrangements with Washington. Mainland China has no such arrangement, so tests performed there would no longer be accepted for new device authorization applications; products already authorized would not be affected.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the item on October 7 for the commission's October 29 open meeting, and the draft order was published the next day. According to the FCC, 82 percent of electronic devices that applied for U.S. authorization in 2025 were tested in labs in mainland China, while less than 4 percent were tested in labs inside the United States. Carr said the U.S. will “insist on fair and reciprocal treatment in international commerce.” A Steptoe analysis of the draft notes that Hong Kong and Taiwan are on the list of reciprocal economies, while mainland China is not.
The move is the latest step in the FCC's tightening of communications supply-chain security. In 2025 the FCC barred dozens of labs owned or controlled by foreign adversary governments from testing U.S. devices; in April the commission voted to advance broader restrictions covering all labs in non-reciprocal countries and sought public comment. The October 29 vote would turn that proposal into adopted rules. Manufacturers relying on mainland labs must move testing to the U.S. or a reciprocal economy before December 2028, even if their products are not on the FCC's Covered List.
Sources: FCC announcement and draft order, October 7; Reuters, October 7; Steptoe client alert.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国联邦通信委员会总部大楼 / Headquarters of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C. Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- 2026-10-07FCC to Vote Oct. 29 on Barring All Chinese Labs From Testing Electronics for U.S. Market
- 2026-10-15FCC to Vote Oct. 29 on Ending Recognition of Mainland China Device Test Labs, Effective December 2028This story
- 2026-10-29Follow-Up: FCC Adopts Device Test Lab Reciprocity Rules, Limiting Recognition From December 1, 2028 to Labs in the U.S. or Reciprocal Economies
- 2026-10-29Follow-Up: FCC Votes October 29 to Bar All Chinese Labs From Testing Electronics for the U.S., Effective December 2028
- 2026-10-30Follow-up: China's Commerce Ministry Opposes FCC Test Lab Rules on October 30, Vows Countermeasures If U.S. Persists
