Major US online retailers remove listings for millions of prohibited Chinese electronics
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Major U.S. online retail websites have removed several million listings of banned Chinese electronics as part of a crackdown by the agency, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said on Friday.
Items such as home security cameras and smartwatches from companies including Huawei, Hangzhou Hikvision, ZTE and Dahua Technology Company are either on the U.S. list of prohibited equipment or are not authorized by the agency, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in an interview.
Carr said companies are putting new processes in place to prevent products from being banned in the future as a result of FCC oversight.
“We will continue our efforts,” Carr said.
The FCC issued a new national security notice reminding companies of prohibited items, including video surveillance equipment. Carr said the items could allow China to “spy on Americans, disrupt communications networks, and otherwise threaten U.S. national security.”
U.S. agencies have taken a number of actions against Chinese technology companies in recent years, including those in telecommunications, semiconductors, vehicles and others that have raised national security concerns. This is the latest step towards preventing unapproved Chinese electronics from entering the US market.
Earlier this week, the FCC said it plans to vote this month on tightening restrictions on telecommunications equipment made by Chinese companies deemed a national security risk, the latest in a series of U.S. actions targeting Beijing.
The US telecom regulator had previously included companies such as Huawei, ZTE, China Mobile and China Telecom on the “Covered List”, which prevents the FCC from allowing the import or sale of new equipment from these companies.
The agency will vote on October 28 to prohibit the authorization of devices containing component parts of the Covered List, giving the agency the authority to prohibit the sale of previously authorized Covered List equipment in certain circumstances.
In March, the FCC said it was investigating nine Chinese companies on the Comprehensive List, including Huawei, ZTE, as well as Hytera Communications, Dahua Technology Company, Pacifica Networks/ComNet and China Unicom (Americas).
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.
The FCC has previously banned some Chinese companies from providing telecommunications services in the United States, citing national security concerns.
Last month, the FCC began proceedings to withdraw recognition of seven testing laboratories owned or controlled by the Chinese government, citing U.S. national security concerns.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter and Diane Craft)
