The US-China tech contest has moved – to the gatekeeping product testers

The latest front in the US-China technology contest is not advanced chips, artificial intelligence (AI) or telecommunications equipment. It is the laboratories that certify whether an electronic product may enter the American market.

On October 29, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to stop recognising testing laboratories, telecoms certification bodies and accreditation organisations in China and in other economies that lack a “mutual recognition agreement” or comparable reciprocal arrangement with the United States.

The restrictions take effect on December 1, 2028. FCC chairman Brendan Carr cited a striking statistic: last year, about 82 per cent of US equipment-authorisation applications were associated with testing firms in China, while fewer than 4 per cent involved testing in the US.