By Alexandra Alper and Katharine Jackson
WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) – The Federal Communications Commission said on Tuesday it plans to vote next month on a measure that would bar sales of devices in the United States that contain components from blacklisted companies.
The U.S. telecom watchdog maintains a list of firms — including Chinese telecom company Huawei — whose equipment is barred for sale in the U.S. over national security concerns. But no regulations currently prohibit American sales of electronics such as smartphones that contain chips designed by Huawei’s chip unit HiSilicon, for example.
The measure, if approved, will close a “loophole” and “protect Americans from electronic devices that have been determined to pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States,” the FCC said in a statement.
Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The proposed ban is the latest example of the FCC’s renewed and cautious drive to tackle technology threats posed by China.
Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday that the Trump administration was drafting a ban on imports of foreign inverters, which connect solar projects and batteries to the grid, over concerns China could use them to disrupt power supplies.
The FCC also banned imports of new foreign drone and router models in recent months. It later provided waivers to some non-Chinese companies.
Chris McGuire, a former White House National Security Council official under former President Joe Biden, welcomed the proposal. “Compromised components, particularly semiconductors or communications devices, can be used to corrupt entire devices,” he said. Since the FCC already banned Huawei on national security grounds, “it is only logical for it to also ban devices that include Huawei components.”
Following Beijing’s use of export controls on rare earth minerals last year, the Trump administration took what observers have called a softer stance on China than during the president’s first term.
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper, Katharine Jackson; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Rod Nickel)
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