Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Brendan Carr is announcing final rules that would limit the agency’s recognition of Test Labs to those located in the U.S. or in countries that grant U.S. labs reciprocal recognition, Breitbart News exclusively learned.
The U.S. has long abandoned the principles of trade reciprocity but is moving back to a more fair approach under President Trump’s leadership, with the FCC addressing Test Labs in nations that lack reciprocal agreements. As a result of previous practices, the majority of testing has been offshored to non-Reciprocal Economies, making it more difficult for the FCC to conduct proper oversight.
On Wednesday, Carr is expected to offer a final rule that would put an end to the unfair trading practices in this respect. If the rule is adopted at the meeting later this month, it would go into place December 1, 2028, meaning “testing, certifying, and accreditation” activities would have to occur in the U.S. or a Reciprocal Economy — not a non-Reciprocal Economy.
Per the press release:
Before any electronic device can be used or marketed in the U.S., it must be tested at an FCC recognized lab. With this decision, the FCC would ensure fair and reciprocal treatment for U.S. industries. Specifically, the proposed FCC order would limit the FCC’s recognition of Test Labs to those located in the United States or in countries that grant U.S. labs reciprocal recognition (Reciprocal Economies).
“For decades, officials in D.C. looked the other way when foreign nations abused their relationships with America and adopted trade practices that failed to account for basic concepts of reciprocity and fair dealing,” Carr said in a statement.
“Those efforts included the offshoring of testing capacity to foreign labs and the gutting of American jobs and domestic industry. Flash forward to now and less than 4 percent of all electronic devices are tested in labs located inside the U.S. and the lion’s share are tested in countries that do not operate a reciprocal economy,” he continued. “So today, we take appropriate action to insist on fair and reciprocal treatment in international commerce.”
This America First approach, following the steps of President Trump, is intended to send a message to the world that access to the American economy is a “privilege.”
FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty said in a statement regarding such rules in April, “When Americans think about national security, they often picture our military, warfighters parachuting from helicopters, intelligence agencies engaged in covert espionage operations, or perhaps the latest spy-thriller. What rarely comes to mind is the ‘made in’ label on the RF devices in their homes, or the reality that the lifecycle of those devices, including where they are tested for FCC certification, can have profound implications for the security and privacy of both consumers and their neighbors.”
She noted the FCC has made strengthening the authorization process a top priority in its national security efforts.
The press release on this final rule proposal notes that the rules “follow last year’s ‘Bad Labs’ rules, which prohibited Test Lab ownership or control by entities deemed national security threats, such as foreign adversaries.” As a result, over two dozen test labs lost their FCC recognition over problematic ties.