The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote next month on a rule that would ban the sale of any device containing components from firms on its “Covered List,” a roster of companies the agency considers national security threats. The vote, announced on June 30, would close a gap in existing regulations that most consumers probably didn’t know existed.

Here’s the thing. The US already bars telecom equipment made by companies like Huawei and ZTE from American networks. But a smartphone with a chip designed by Huawei’s HiSilicon semiconductor unit? That can still land on a shelf at your local electronics retailer. The proposed rule would end that distinction.

What the loophole actually looks like

The FCC’s Covered List, which has included companies like Huawei Technologies, ZTE, Hangzhou Hikvision, Dahua Technology, Hytera, China Mobile, and China Telecom since March 2021, was originally designed to keep these firms’ own branded equipment off US telecom networks. In 2022, the FCC moved to bar new telecom authorizations for listed companies. But consumer electronics containing components sourced from those same firms were never explicitly covered. A device maker could integrate a blacklisted company’s chip into a phone or tablet and sell it in the US without running afoul of the rules.

The upcoming vote would change that calculus entirely. If the rule passes, any device with parts traceable to a Covered List entity would be barred from sale in the United States, regardless of who assembles or brands the final product.

Just days before the vote announcement, the FCC unveiled a comprehensive ban on additional imports of equipment from listed companies, set to take effect in early July.

Operation Clean Carts and the broader crackdown

In October 2025, the agency launched “Operation Clean Carts,” an initiative targeting e-commerce platforms that were hosting millions of product listings for prohibited devices. The operation has focused on scrubbing online marketplaces of listings that violated existing FCC rules.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been the central figure driving these measures, systematically expanding the reach of the agency’s China-related restrictions from network-level bans to import controls and now to component-level prohibitions.

What this means for investors and the tech supply chain

If you hold positions in semiconductor companies or consumer electronics manufacturers, this vote deserves your attention. The rule would force device makers to audit their supply chains at the component level, not just the assembly level. Companies that have been quietly sourcing chips from HiSilicon or other subsidiaries of blacklisted firms would need to find alternatives, potentially facing months of redesign, testing, and qualification, meaning potential delays, higher costs, and in some cases, product discontinuations.