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.
“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.”
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.
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.”
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.
