TP-Link tries to appease Trump admin with pledge to assemble routers in US

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TP-Link yesterday announced plans to assemble Wi-Fi routers in the US, as the company attempts to get the Trump administration’s approval to sell its newest routers to American consumers. The timing is uncertain, as TP-Link’s press release said it expects US-based assembly to begin “as early as” 2027. TP-Link’s application to sell new routers in the US could be rejected by the Trump administration or remain pending long enough to push the US-based assembly to 2028.

TP-Link 昨日宣布计划在美国组装 Wi-Fi 路由器，试图争取特朗普政府的批准，以便向美国消费者销售其最新款路由器。该计划的时间表尚不确定，TP-Link 的新闻稿称预计美国本土组装最早将于 2027 年开始。TP-Link 在美国销售新路由器的申请可能会被特朗普政府拒绝，或者因审批时间过长而导致美国本土组装推迟至 2028 年。

“Pending US regulatory approval, TP-Link expects domestic assembly of its groundbreaking Wi-Fi 8 home networking product line to begin as early as next year,” the company said. TP-Link said it signed a Letter of Intent with US company Keytronic, which agreed “to become a primary domestic manufacturing partner for TP-Link, supporting assembly of the company’s advanced networking portfolio in Corinth, Mississippi.”

该公司表示：“在等待美国监管部门批准的情况下，TP-Link 预计其开创性的 Wi-Fi 8 家庭网络产品线最早将于明年开始在美国本土组装。”TP-Link 称已与美国公司 Keytronic 签署了一份意向书，后者同意“成为 TP-Link 的主要本土制造合作伙伴，支持该公司在密西西比州科林斯市组装其先进的网络产品组合。”

TP-Link can’t sell its Wi-Fi 8 routers in the US because of the Federal Communications Commission ban on consumer-grade routers produced wholly or partly in other countries. Previous TP-Link routers that were already approved for import and sale are still available. What counts as a US router is unclear.

由于美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）禁止销售全部或部分在其他国家生产的消费级路由器，TP-Link 目前无法在美国销售其 Wi-Fi 8 路由器。此前已获准进口和销售的 TP-Link 路由器仍可购买。目前尚不清楚何种标准才算作“美国路由器”。

The FCC has given exemptions to a number of prominent router makers, but TP-Link’s history as a Chinese company is making it difficult to obtain FCC clearance. Founded in China in 1996, TP-Link moved its headquarters to California in October 2024. It says that “TP-Link Systems devices sold in the US are manufactured in Vietnam and TP-Link Systems is an independent, US company that is not owned or controlled by any foreign government.”

FCC 已向多家知名路由器制造商发放了豁免权，但 TP-Link 作为一家中国公司的背景使其难以获得 FCC 的许可。TP-Link 于 1996 年在中国成立，并于 2024 年 10 月将总部迁至加利福尼亚州。该公司声称：“在美国销售的 TP-Link Systems 设备是在越南制造的，TP-Link Systems 是一家独立的美国公司，不受任何外国政府拥有或控制。”

While TP-Link assembles routers in Vietnam, most of the components are reportedly imported from China. TP-Link’s plan to assemble routers in the US will still require it to import components, but the company hopes investment in the US will help it gain the Trump administration’s favor.

尽管 TP-Link 在越南组装路由器，但据报道，其大部分零部件仍从中国进口。TP-Link 在美国组装路由器的计划仍需进口零部件，但该公司希望通过在美国的投资来争取特朗普政府的青睐。

While the FCC is urging router makers to move more of their operations to the US, a TP-Link official said the government has provided no clear guidance on how much US manufacturing is enough to obtain an exemption from the foreign router ban. “There are no published guidelines that say, ‘Well, it could be 25 percent US, or it could be 15 percent US,’” TP-Link corporate affairs officer Steve Kovsky told PCMag.

尽管 FCC 敦促路由器制造商将更多业务转移到美国，但一位 TP-Link 官员表示，政府并未就“美国制造”达到何种比例才能获得外国路由器禁令的豁免提供明确指导。TP-Link 企业事务官 Steve Kovsky 对 PCMag 表示：“目前没有任何已发布的准则说明，比如‘美国制造比例达到 25% 或 15% 即可’。”

Kovsky said that many components “are just not available from a domestic source, and this is not a TP-Link issue. This is an issue for all manufacturers that are trying to onshore manufacturing.” In a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and the agency’s commissioners last week, Kovsky said TP-Link is proposing “a nearly $1 billion investment in America that would result in equipping existing US factories, and ultimately building new, highly automated manufacturing facilities, to start assembling next-generation Wi-Fi 8 routers in the United States as soon as next year, creating hundreds of new jobs.”

Kovsky 指出，许多零部件“根本无法从美国本土采购，这并非 TP-Link 一家的问题，而是所有试图将制造业回流的厂商共同面临的问题。”在上周致 FCC 主席 Brendan Carr 及各位委员的信中，Kovsky 表示 TP-Link 提议“在美国投资近 10 亿美元，用于装备现有的美国工厂，并最终建设全新的高度自动化制造设施，以便最早于明年在美国开始组装下一代 Wi-Fi 8 路由器，从而创造数百个新的就业岗位。”

TP-Link’s letter said it will make the proposed investment if it receives approval to sell Wi-Fi 8 routers in the US. “This investment would build upon TP-Link’s existing US footprint, which includes a global headquarters in Irvine, Calif., and more than 700 US employees,” TP-Link told the FCC. “As part of this investment, TP-Link would begin assembling these Wi-Fi 8 devices in the United States by next year, and the devices will incorporate software and firmware developed, written, and stored in the United States by TP-Link’s US engineering organization.”

TP-Link 在信中表示，如果获得在美国销售 Wi-Fi 8 路由器的批准，公司将进行上述投资。TP-Link 对 FCC 表示：“这项投资将建立在 TP-Link 现有的美国业务基础上，包括位于加州尔湾的全球总部以及 700 多名美国员工。作为投资的一部分，TP-Link 将于明年开始在美国组装这些 Wi-Fi 8 设备，且这些设备将采用由 TP-Link 美国工程团队在美国开发、编写和存储的软件及固件。”

The FCC isn’t the only agency that TP-Link has to convince. The FCC process for issuing exemptions from the ban requires each router maker to first obtain a determination from the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security that its devices do not pose national security risks. Router makers that received exemptions so far include Netgear, Asus, Adtran, Amazon and its Eero subsidiary, Calix, Nokia, SpaceX’s Starlink division, and others.

FCC 并非 TP-Link 需要说服的唯一机构。FCC 发放禁令豁免的流程要求每家路由器制造商首先获得国防部或国土安全部的认定，证明其设备不会构成国家安全风险。目前已获得豁免的路由器制造商包括网件（Netgear）、华硕（Asus）、Adtran、亚马逊及其子公司 Eero、Calix、诺基亚、SpaceX 的星链（Starlink）部门等。

TP-Link urged the Trump administration to ensure that its “reviewers fairly apply the same consistent review standards to TP-Link as have been applied to all other applicants.” TP-Link’s 2024 move to the US came amid investigations into high-profile attacks linked to the Chinese government, including a botnet composed mostly of TP-Link routers. The Russian GRU also compromised TP-Link routers to steal information, US intelligence agencies said in April 2026.

TP-Link 敦促特朗普政府确保其“审查人员能够公平地对 TP-Link 适用与其他申请者一致的审查标准。”TP-Link 在 2024 年迁往美国时，正值针对与中国政府有关的高调攻击进行调查之际，其中包括一个主要由 TP-Link 路由器组成的僵尸网络。美国情报机构在 2026 年 4 月表示，俄罗斯格鲁乌（GRU）也曾入侵 TP-Link 路由器以窃取信息。

TP-Link is far from the only router maker with security problems. For example, so-called AirSnitch attacks described in research this year were reported to work on routers made by Netgear, D-Link, Ubiquiti, Cisco, and those running DD-WRT and OpenWrt.

TP-Link 绝非唯一存在安全问题的路由器制造商。例如，今年研究中描述的所谓“AirSnitch”攻击据报道对网件、友讯（D-Link）、Ubiquiti、思科（Cisco）以及运行 DD-WRT 和 OpenWrt 系统的路由器均有效。

TP-Link’s letter to the FCC last week said its application for an exemption provides “complete responses” to questions about its corporate structure and manufacturing and supply chain. “TP-Link prioritizes the security of US consumer networking data; user data processed by TP-Link’s US products is encrypted and housed on Amazon Web Services infrastructure in Virginia,” the company said. “And of course, TP-Link does not, and will not, share customer network data with foreign governments or unauthorized third parties.”

TP-Link 上周致信 FCC，称其豁免申请对有关公司结构、制造和供应链的问题提供了“完整答复”。该公司表示：“TP-Link 将美国消费者网络数据的安全放在首位；TP-Link 美国产品处理的用户数据均经过加密，并存储在位于弗吉尼亚州的亚马逊云科技（AWS）基础设施上。当然，TP-Link 不会，也不会向任何外国政府或未经授权的第三方共享客户网络数据。”

TP-Link also faces opposition from Republican state attorneys general. The AGs from Florida, Montana, Iowa, and Nebraska sued TP-Link this month, alleging that it lied to consumers about its connections to China and the risks of its routers being exploited by Chinese state hackers. A group of 21 Republican state AGs then sent a letter to the FCC questioning TP-Link’s claims regarding router security and the company’s independence from China. The letter urged the FCC to require remedies for “past and ongoing state-law violations” in its review of TP-Link’s application.

TP-Link 还面临来自共和党州总检察长的反对。佛罗里达州、蒙大拿州、爱荷华州和内布拉斯加州的总检察长本月起诉了 TP-Link，指控其在与中国的联系以及路由器被中国国家黑客利用的风险方面对消费者撒谎。随后，由 21 位共和党州总检察长组成的团体致信 FCC，质疑 TP-Link 关于路由器安全性的声明及其与中国保持独立的说法。信中敦促 FCC 在审查 TP-Link 的申请时，要求其对“过去和正在发生的违反州法律的行为”进行补救。