Previously, the U.S. government was investigating the Chinese router brand TP-Link, and may even ban the sale of TP-Link routers in the United States. Due to its cost-effectiveness, TP-Link currently occupies about 65% of the U.S. home and small business router market.
In this regard, there are rumors in the market that the U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating TP-Link to confirm whether it poses any national security risks. In addition, it is also investigating whether TP-Link adopts predatory pricing strategies to further gain market competitive advantage.
According to reports, after more than a year of rigorous review by multiple agencies, the U.S. government is considering an outright ban on the sale of TP-Link routers. The proposal was initiated by the U.S. Department of Commerce and supported by departments including the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security.
The government's formal process will be divided into two 30-day phases:
Phase 1: After the ban is initiated, TP-Link will have one month to respond to the accusations and ban proposal.
Phase 2: The U.S. Department of Commerce will have one month to decide whether to continue to implement the ban, and TP-Link’s objections will be considered in the decision-making process.
In response, TP-Link issued a statement stating that there has been no agency confirmation or any official action taken on these allegations. It is still possible that the U.S. Department of Commerce will not issue an injunction or may reach an agreement with TP-Link to resolve the issue in a different way.
TP-Link said it will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Commerce to ensure that any government concerns are understood and responded to. At the same time, the company reserves its legal rights to challenge any treatment and actions that lack factual basis or are unfair.
TP-Link also revealed that as early as 2022, the company had spun off TP-Link Systems as an independent entity to be responsible for the operations of the US business; in addition, since 2018, all routers sold to the US have been produced in Vietnam.
