FCC Advances Withdrawal of Recognition for Labs With China Links
The FCC is moving forward on proceedings to withdraw accredited test lab recognition for labs that the agency says the Chinese government has some ownership or control over. It started proceedings in September to remove the recognition (see 2509080058), and a number of the labs argued against loss of accreditation, saying their operations were independent or adhered to testing lab quality standards (see 2510170024). However, the commission's Office of Engineering and Technology rejected those arguments in a series of orders Friday, saying the People's Republic of China is a prohibited entity, and FCC rules are clear that it will withdraw recognition of any lab owned by or subject to the direction of a prohibited entity.
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While CCIC Ningbo had argued it's not under the control or direction of a prohibited entity, OET said in docket 25-269 that a corporate governance document indicates that state-owned China Certification & Inspection Group Co. is a shareholder and contributed 49% of the founding capital. Further, some matters at CCIC Ningbo require unanimous board approval, OET said.
The orders in dockets 25-267, 25-268, 25-269, 25-272 and 25-273 give the lab companies 35 days each to demonstrate why recognition shouldn't be withdrawn.