FCC tries to ban Chinese labs from testing American gadgets

When purchasing new devices, reviews can be a great tool, alongside regulatory testing results. Personal taste can only take you so far, and you need to know if the smart TV you want to buy is worth it. Many people rely on media outlets like Consumer Reports to help them find or avoid the best (and worst) smart home gadgets because the company is very reliable. But what happens if a device is tested and reviewed by an allegedly unreliable source? Earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided to vote on whether the organization would stop recognizing tests conducted by Chinese (and other countries) labs on electronic devices. If the vote passes on October 29, starting December 1, 2028, no electronic devices sold in the United States will be tested in Chinese laboratories or other accrediting bodies. This could potentially include smartphones, cameras, computers and many other devices.

The crux of the problem lies in what is called a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA). Basically, two governments agree to accept the test results from the product approval committees established by their respective countries and share (mostly) equal responsibility for the testing. This reciprocal agreement is designed to ensure that all devices pass testing to a recognized standard of security and integrity. Since the FCC states that China does not have an MRA with the United States, the organization wants to take corrective action to ensure the integrity of test results so that testing labs do not greenlight potentially dangerous devices. The FCC also says the ban could help “ensure the integrity, reliability, and resiliency of the communications devices on which the United States depends.”

To say that the United States and China are at odds would be an understatement. The US government has embarked on a campaign to ban technologies made in China. Earlier this year, the government banned routers made in foreign countries – including China – citing potential national security risks, only to ease the ban on Chinese routers a few months later. The FCC’s proposed ban may sound familiar to people who have been paying attention to this dispute.

Let’s say the vote passes; what happens then? The FCC would accept accredited devices into testing labs in non-reciprocal economies – including China – until December 1, 2028, at which point it would no longer recognize anything that passes through their labs. The United States would then enter into testing agreements with countries that have MRAs, which would be an arduous process to ensure that its accreditation equipment complies with the code. The FCC could also create testing labs in the United States to avoid overconcentration issues that could strain supply chains — and give one country an advantage over another.

Additionally, the FCC would maintain a constantly updated list of countries with reciprocal economies that would determine whether the organization would recognize the results of its testing laboratories. While one country on this list could easily be removed, others could also be added. China has not entered into an MRA with the United States, but the FCC is potentially open to a future in which the United States and China enter into a reciprocal agreement allowing countries to recognize the results of each other’s accreditation testing laboratories. Such a move would go a long way in bringing Chinese electric vehicles to the United States.