The United States is taking a much tougher stance on home networking gear. After years of limiting foreign equipment in government and other sensitive environments, a new move by the Federal Communications Commission signals a broad escalation: consumer-grade routers made outside the country are now barred from being imported into the US.
This decision lands hard in a market where “American” router brands often rely on overseas production. Even well-known US networking names typically manufacture in other countries. In some cases, companies assemble devices in Mexico for the US market, and that list has included brands such as Cisco, Netgear, and Arris/Motorola. Some router makers with roots in China have also shifted US-bound production to Mexico. Meanwhile, a much smaller number of companies manufacture networking equipment domestically, and the FCC’s action could increase pressure across the industry to relocate production or restructure supply chains.
According to the FCC’s fact sheet, the core concern is national security and cybersecurity. The executive branch determination cited two major risks tied to foreign-made routers: supply chain vulnerabilities that could disrupt the US economy, critical infrastructure, and national defense, and severe cybersecurity threats that could be exploited to disrupt critical systems and directly harm people in the US.
What changes now? Foreign-produced consumer routers can’t be imported for sale in the United States, and new router models will need to go through required approvals before they can enter the market. For everyday consumers, there’s an important detail: people who already own foreign-made routers can continue using them. However, the government is now labeling even household use of such hardware as a potential security concern, which may drive more buyers and retailers to seek models produced within acceptable supply chains.
The move follows a similar pattern seen recently in other categories of connected hardware. Toward the end of 2025, the US restricted foreign-made drones over related security worries. And because many routers used in American homes are manufactured in Taiwan or China, the impact of this router import ban could be widespread—affecting availability, pricing, and which router brands and models consumers see on shelves in the months ahead.
For shoppers, the biggest takeaway is that the router market in the US may soon look different. Expect more attention to where devices are made, how they’re certified, and whether manufacturers can shift production fast enough to keep popular models available under the new rules.
