At the end of April, the FCC proposed expansion on a previous action, prohibiting Chinese laboratories from certifying electronics for the US market. Here’s how it impacts manufacturers in general – and how Ezurio customers are affected.
Published on June 9, 2026
As a part of the ongoing and developing trade situation between the US and China, the FCC unanimously voted at the end of April to advance further restrictions on Chinese certification labs and their ability to certify products for the US market. This is, by itself, not entirely new: the FCC proposal of May 22, 2025 established a ban on what it referred to as “bad labs,” in the name of national security. The FCC’s position at the time was that government-owned or government-controlled labs in the People’s Republic of China are so unduly influenced by the government’s priorities and persuasion that they represent an undue risk to the US market. Without true independence, the FCC concludes that those laboratories, while recognized for technical competence, do not meet a standard of trustworthiness that the FCC deems necessary. In short, the FCC declared those laboratories compromised by the influence of the Chinese Communist Party. The FCC action directly banned a specific range of these laboratories from the U.S. Equipment Authorization Process via the FCC’s Covered List.
Now, the FCC’s latest proposed action (FCC-26-29) would expand on that rationale and scope, targeting many more labs. In a broad stroke, the approved proposal would prohibit all laboratories in China and Hong Kong from certifying devices for the US market. This includes all electronics and stands to have an extremely broad impact on anyone doing business in the US. The FCC estimates that a massive 75% of all devices are tested by labs in China. The impact of this action has the potential to dramatically reshape the approval process and US / Chinese trade in general.
Here we’ll discuss what the next steps in the process are, and how Ezurio’s customers are impacted by the effects of this particular FCC action.
Traditionally, the wheels of these processes move slowly. While the proposal was unanimously passed for approval, the next steps include comment, deliberation, and ultimately a grace period. As with most regulatory moves, enforcement would be slated for a year or two from the time of enactment. But manufacturers across industries need to be aware now, as this process moves from proposal to debate and potential codification. It also takes a long time to change significant processes like this. The time to start paying attention is now.
After the April 29th proposal, what follows is the traditional public comment period. It’s during this 60-to-90-day period that citizens, trade groups, businesses, and others may submit comments for consideration on the proposed change. This includes feedback on the impact that this may have on all stakeholders, for the FCC to consider in its actions. The proposal could be modified based on this feedback.
After this, the FCC will have the opportunity to make a ruling on its final proposal. If approved, the rules do not take immediate effect. Because it takes a significant amount of time for manufacturers to adjust and align with the new rules, a two-year grace window would typically take effect. If approved, that time will be allotted for manufacturers to adjust processes, choose new test laboratories, and otherwise comply with the new U.S. Equipment Authorization Process.
Ezurio’s products are not tested for FCC compliance in China. In fact, our in-house wireless certification teams operate out of our Cedarburg, WI test laboratory. Our compute modules in the form of System-on-Modules and SBCs are also not tested in China. Nor is our IoT product portfolio. In short, at this time, we believe Ezurio’s products are not directly impacted by the changes proposed by the FCC.
We suggest customers also scrutinize the Bill of Materials for their current and future offerings and consider their risk exposure outside of the components provided by Ezurio.
Because of our decades of experience in product design, our in-house test and certification capabilities, and our deep bench of experienced engineering, we’ve seen it all before. The changing regulatory landscape is not new to us, and we have a long history of guiding our customers through the complexity and uncertainty to provide stability to their development and product lifecycle. It’s what sets us apart from many who simply provide hardware and software. We provide a blueprint for the future.
Reach out to our sales and engineering teams to discuss your latest project. We can connect you with the right hardware, powered by software and features others can’t match, with the one-on-one guidance to help you spot the dangers ahead and avoid costly redesigns and last minute adjustments. We’re your expert on deck, providing connectivity, compute, and much more.
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