Washington’s technology war with Beijing has taken a significant new step. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Friday said it will ban the import of more equipment from a group of Chinese manufacturers, the latest move by Washington to crack down on Chinese-made electronic gear. The move expands an FCC ban imposed in 2022 on new models of telecommunications and video surveillance equipment made by Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua, citing U.S. national security risks.
The critical distinction in the June 26 action is what it now covers that was previously left open. The ban now includes old models, not just those designed starting in late 2022, of equipment used for “public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes,” the FCC said. The expanded ban is set to take effect in early July.
When the FCC initially banned equipment from these companies in November 2022, it prohibited the authorization of new device models. However, it allowed older models that had already received regulatory approval before late 2022 to continue flowing into the country. U.S. national security agencies argued this created a structural vulnerability, as organisations could simply continue buying pre-approved legacy hardware to bypass the restrictions.
“US launches new Chinese tech crackdown, will ban some imports — The FCC said it will ban the import of equipment from a group of Chinese manufacturers. The ban expands a 2022 restriction on Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua to now cover older legacy models, effective July 2026.”~Reuters
The Loophole That Made This Expansion Necessary:
The 2022 ban, while significant in its scope, contained a structural gap that the June 26 action is designed to close permanently. The 2022 original ban barred only new hardware models designed after late 2022. The 2026 expanded ban retroactively blocks all older and legacy models for critical infrastructure.
In reality, this meant that public safety organizations, critical infrastructure operators, and government agencies may continue to purchase older, pre-approved models of surveillance cameras, telecommunications equipment, and other technology from the five businesses on the blacklist. In certain instances, they did. The FCC concluded that the age of a device’s certification is not a significant security distinction, and from a national security standpoint, the hardware being installed is functionally same regardless of when its regulatory approval was issued.
The FCC said the action “is necessary to protect national security by mitigating risks to the U.S. communications infrastructure.” The five companies targeted – Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, and Dahua Technology — are each present on the FCC’s Covered List of entities deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security.
“The FCC has expanded its ban on Chinese-made technology equipment to include legacy and older models from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua. The updated rule closes a loophole that allowed pre-2022 approved hardware to continue entering the country. Effective early July 2026.”~FCC
Part Of A Broader Tech Blockade: Drones In December, Routers In March
The June 26 action did not arrive in isolation. This latest FCC action is not an isolated event, but rather the next phase in a rapid series of tech blockades deployed by Washington over the past several months. In December 2025, the FCC outright banned the import of all new models of Chinese drones to shield domestic airspace from potential data scraping. In March 2026, the agency banned imports of new models of Chinese-made consumer internet routers, targeting the literal gateway boxes connecting phones and smart devices to the internet.
Each of these actions has addressed a different layer of the technology stack from the airspace above American homes, to the routers inside them, to the surveillance cameras and telecommunications equipment installed across government buildings, airports, schools, and critical infrastructure sites. The cumulative effect is a systematic attempt to remove Chinese-manufactured hardware from the physical infrastructure that American public life and national security depend upon.
The five businesses at the center of these bans together account for a significant share of worldwide hardware manufacture in their respective sectors. Hikvision and Dahua jointly account for a sizable portion of the worldwide video surveillance market. Huawei and ZTE are among the world’s largest telecommunications equipment makers. Hytera is a major manufacturer of professional mobile radio communications equipment. Restricting all of their product lines, both current and heritage from the US market is a significant economic hit, even though the companies have been planning for rising US limitations for years.
“The FCC’s expanded ban on Chinese tech equipment closes the legacy hardware loophole that let pre-2022 approved Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Hytera and Dahua gear continue entering the US. Coming after drone and router bans in late 2025 and early 2026, this completes a comprehensive hardware exclusion strategy.”~Defense One
China’s Response And What Comes Next:
Beijing’s reaction to the FCC’s June 26 vote followed a usual diplomatic pattern: a forceful rejection of what Chinese officials view as discriminatory technology trade restrictions disguised in national security language. Chinese foreign ministry officials have frequently described the FCC decisions as protectionist measures that violate World Trade Organization rules and jeopardize global supply chain stability.
The five targeted companies represent the absolute backbone of China’s global hardware manufacturing footprint. Restricting their older product lines significantly limits their remaining operational space in the U.S. market. For the companies involved, the July effective date gives procurement teams and existing customers only weeks to work through the implications including whether existing maintenance contracts, spare parts supplies, and software updates for already-installed equipment are affected by the expanded import ban.
The larger concern around this recent measure is whether the United States would expand similar bans beyond equipment intended for critical infrastructure into consumer and commercial markets. The 2022 prohibition and its June 2026 expansion targeted equipment utilized in public safety, government facilities, and national security situations. Consumer-facing Chinese electronics – smartphones, smart home gadgets, wearables remain largely outside the present FCC framework, though political support toward further restrictions grows in Washington.
“FCC bans legacy Chinese telecom and surveillance equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera, effective July 2026. The expanded rule closes the loophole that had allowed pre-2022 approved hardware to keep entering the US market despite the national security ban.”~The Verge (@verge)
