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Howard Liu

China’s technology sector is facing fresh pressure in the United States as lawmakers seek to broaden the range of products that can be placed on a trade blacklist, while Lenovo Group has been drawn into a patent dispute involving memory devices.
The Communications and Technology Transparency Act, unveiled by the US House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday, would expand the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List from “communications equipment or service” to the much broader category of “information and communications technology or service” (ICTS).
Products on the list cannot be legally imported, marketed or sold as new products in the US.
The FCC has already restricted several Chinese-made items, including drones and robots, under the framework targeting designated “foreign adversaries”.
Separately, the US International Trade Commission on Wednesday announced a Section 337 investigation into certain DDR5 memory modules and downstream products – including servers, computing systems and storage systems – following a patent-infringement complaint filed by California-based Netlist.
As one of the US’ most potent legal weapons for policing intellectual property disputes, a Section 337 investigation can lead to the total exclusion of a product from the American market.
Lenovo, Micron Technology, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Super Micro Computer were named as respondents.
Netlist is seeking a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders over the alleged infringement. Micron, Hewlett Packard, Lenovo and Super Micro did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
The US bill, proposed by congressmen Frank Pallone and Brett Guthrie, also seeks to “streamline the process for barring” products and “clarify the method for determining what is considered malicious technology or equipment”.

In addition, it would require the Covered List to be updated at least once every six months, replacing the current stipulation of “periodically update’’.
Dai Menghao, a partner at the Shanghai and Beijing offices of law firm King & Wood who specialises in export controls and sanctions, said the proposed legislation was to make enforcement of the FCC Covered List more systematic and targeted.
He said the timing of the bipartisan proposal carried symbolic significance, coming ahead of the US midterm elections in November.
The bill also comes as US President Donald Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping, with trade and technology tensions forming part of the broader backdrop to the meeting.
The proposal came less than two weeks after the FCC finalised updates to its equipment authorisation rules, tightening restrictions on devices containing certain hardware components made by entities on the Covered List, but stopped short of targeting optical transceivers.
The decision eased market concerns after Reuters reported in August that Washington was considering measures to block new Chinese optical-transceiver models.
The bill, however, could potentially bring those products back into focus. Optical transceivers, which use photonic technology to convert electrical and optical signals, are widely used in data centres.
Under US Commerce Department regulations referenced in the bill, ICTS covers products intended for the processing, storage, retrieval or communication of information or data through electronic means, including photonic technologies.
A broader definition, however, would not automatically subject all Chinese-made ICTS products to restrictions. Equipment or services would still need to be supplied by an entity controlled by a US-designated “foreign adversary”, a category that includes China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Huawei Technologies, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua Technology and Hytera were among the first Chinese companies placed on the Covered List when it was launched in 2021.


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US lawmakers seek broader powers to restrict technology products as Lenovo faces a patent investigation


US lawmakers seek broader powers to restrict technology products as Lenovo faces a patent investigation.


China tech faces fresh scrutiny as US blacklist bill introduced, Lenovo case emerges

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US lawmakers seek broader powers to restrict technology products as Lenovo faces a patent investigation

US lawmakers seek broader powers to restrict technology products as Lenovo faces a patent investigation