A U.S.-China import drama over computer routers is playing out in Irvine.
At issue are devices made by TP-Link Systems Inc., which claims it is a fully U.S. company and should be exempt from the ban on importing routers from abroad.
However, TP-Link’s China ties, which the company says it has severed, are creating difficulties, with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) scheduled to decide the matter. When that decision on a possible exemption will come is not known.
U.S. officials have long alleged that TP-Link’s products pose a spying threat from Chinese hackers, a claim that the company denies.
The company has been pushing back.
“We remain committed to providing innovative, reliable and secure connectivity solutions for American consumers,” a TP-Link spokesperson told the Business Journal on April 21.
FCC Ban in March
In late March, the FCC banned the sale of any new consumer-grade routers made outside the U.S. That would directly affect TP-Link, whose manufacturing sites include Vietnam. Wi-Fi routers are electronic devices key to handling internet traffic.
TP-Link in Irvine shares common corporate roots with TP-Link Technologies Co., which serves the mainland Chinese market.
The American firm insists it “has split from and no longer has any affiliation” with the Chinese entity.
While the firms still have similar names, they “have entirely different ownership, management, and operations,” the U.S. company says on its website. The separation was completed in 2022.
At a meeting with an FCC official on April 16, lawyers for TP-Link pressed the company’s case for an exemption from the ban.
The stakes are high; TP-Link routers consistently rank among the top sellers on Amazon, while the company boasts 1.7 billion global users.
CEO Reportedly Seeks Trump Gold Card
TP-Link, based at 10 Mauchly, also makes other computer networking products and accessories.
To make his case, TP-Link’s Chinese founder and CEO, Jeffrey Chao, is seeking a $1 million Trump Gold Card visa to gain permanent U.S. residency status, Bloomberg News reported last month.
TP-Link says it is “investing heavily in U.S. R&D and manufacturing.” Industry website PCMag says those investments could reach into the “hundreds of millions” depending on the FCC’s decision.
The company said in December 2024 that nearly all of its products sold in the United States were manufactured in Vietnam, while the remainder were being transitioned to Vietnam.
