Chinese goods make up 60% of the market, US committee panics: ban on importing new routers

[Text/Observer Network 熊超然] On March 23, local time, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it will ban the import of all new foreign-made consumer routers. Reuters reported and interpreted this as the latest crackdown by the U.S. against Chinese-manufactured electronic devices and the so-called “security risks” they pose.

Routers are terminal devices used to connect computers, mobile phones, and smart devices to the internet. It is estimated that Chinese companies hold at least 60% of the U.S. domestic router market share. This FCC ban does not affect the import or use of existing models but will prohibit the import of new models.

The ruling includes an exemption clause—if the U.S. Department of Defense determines that a particular router does not pose a so-called “unacceptable risk,” it may be exempted.

U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (Image)

The FCC claims that a review convened by the White House has determined that imported routers pose a “serious cybersecurity risk that could be exploited to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure.”

The agency states that “malicious actors” have exploited security vulnerabilities in foreign-made routers to “launch attacks on household users, disrupt network operations, engage in espionage, and assist in intellectual property theft.”

Additionally, the FCC continues to deliberately mention the previous false claims and Chinese hype surrounding the so-called “Volt Typhoon” and “Salt Typhoon” cyberattacks, exaggerating the role such devices played in those incidents.

Previously, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokespersons have repeatedly refuted these claims, emphasizing that China firmly opposes and lawfully combats all forms of cyberattacks. The U.S. government’s baseless conclusions and unwarranted accusations against China are highly irresponsible, confusing right and wrong, and China strongly opposes them.

According to reports, some U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns about the so-called “security issues” of Chinese-made routers. John Moolenaar, Republican Chair of the House of Representatives’ U.S.-China Strategic Competition Special Committee, has “praised” the FCC’s decision.

He claimed, “This major decision by the FCC and the Trump administration today protects our country from China’s relentless cyberattacks and clearly states that such devices should not be part of our critical infrastructure. Routers are key hubs that keep us interconnected, and we must not allow Chinese technology to dominate this core area.”

Reuters reports that last month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against TP-Link. The company, headquartered in California, is a router manufacturer that was spun off from a Chinese company in 2024.

However, Paxton now accuses the company of allegedly engaging in false advertising in its marketing of network devices and allowing Chinese access to U.S. consumers’ devices.

TP-Link responded that it would “vigorously defend” its reputation. The company also explicitly stated that China does not have any ownership or control over the company, its products, or user data.

Before this latest incident, there was widespread news about U.S. President Trump’s potential visit to China this year.

Reuters reported on February 12, citing an exclusive source, that before the potential official visit to China, the Trump administration had put on hold a series of key technology security measures (bans) related to China, including prohibiting Chinese telecom companies from operating in the U.S. and restricting Chinese equipment sales to U.S. data centers.

Four unnamed insiders said that the U.S. also paused the sales ban on TP-Link routers, the bans on China Unicom and China Mobile operating internet services in the U.S., and another ban on Chinese electric trucks and buses being sold in the U.S.

Sources indicated that these measures were part of the Trump administration’s latest efforts, following the “trade truce” reached during the U.S.-China summit in Busan at the end of October last year, to prevent actions that might provoke China.

The report also states that the U.S. Department of Commerce, in defending its actions, claimed it was actively exercising its authority “to address ‘national security risks’ from foreign technology and will continue to do so.”

The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. responded at the time, stating that China opposes politicizing economic and technological issues and welcomes U.S.-China cooperation, aiming to make 2026 “a year of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation between the two countries.”

This article is an exclusive report by Observer Network. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.