Covered List

China's ruling Communist Party urges the US to expand cooperation with Beijing rather than add items to its restrictive 'Covered List', which now includes foreign-made power inverters and advanced robotics. The Federal Communications Commission recently expanded the list to bar new models of these technologies from FCC equipment certification.

The Trump administration's Federal Communications Commission added foreign-produced advanced robots and connected power inverters to its Covered List, blocking new models from receiving FCC authorization. The move targets China, aiming to prevent surveillance, cyberattacks, and reduce reliance on Chinese technology while encouraging U.S. manufacturing. Security concerns focus on robots' potential to collect and transmit sensitive data or be remotely compromised.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added foreign-produced mobile robots and networked power inverters to its Covered List on July 28, blocking new models from receiving equipment authorization for import, marketing, or sale in the US. Previously authorized models can still be sold, and existing devices remain unaffected.

The cable industry's lobby group, NCTA, is petitioning the FCC to waive restrictions on foreign-made routers, arguing that the current ban could disrupt operations for cable Internet providers. The FCC's March 2024 rule added most consumer routers partially made outside the US to a security-risk list, blocking imports of new or modified models. NCTA seeks to allow substitutions of specific router components without violating FCC regulations.

The FCC updated its 'Covered List' to block new foreign routers from U.S. sales due to national security concerns, but existing routers can still receive updates until at least March 2027 under a temporary waiver. The policy focuses on future device approvals rather than current devices, with conditional approvals granted for some products from NETGEAR and Adtran through October 2027.