The Trump administration is drafting a ban on US imports of new models of Chinese datacenter components, with the Federal Communications Commission developing a measure to bar imports of new Chinese optical transceivers used in datacenters, according to four people familiar with the matter who spoke with Reuters The Guardian. The planned ban would cover all imports of new Chinese optical transceiver models and exempt many non-Chinese suppliers from the restriction Reuters. US officials hope to publish the FCC measure this year, though the commission could still modify or shelve it.

Optical transceivers are the photonic modules that convert electrical signals to optical ones for high-speed data transmission between servers, switches, and storage arrays in datacenter environments. Chinese companies control a majority of the global market for these components. An FCC document identifies Coherent Corp. (US) and INNOLIGHT (China) as the key players in the optical transceiver market FCC. Zhongji Innolight, one of the biggest global sellers of transceivers, would likely be hit by the ban and was added to the Pentagon's list of alleged Chinese military-backed companies in June 2026.

The measure under development would use the FCC's Covered List framework. Under FCC rules, new models of devices on the Covered List are prohibited from receiving FCC authorization and are therefore prohibited from being imported FCC. The commission has been actively expanding this list: it banned imports of additional equipment from a group of Chinese manufacturers effective July 16, 2026, and on July 22, 2026, voted to bar sales of devices containing parts from Chinese firms that pose national-security risks Reuters. The FCC finalized a ban on already-authorized devices that were added to the Covered List in 2024, per an order published July 23, 2026 FCC. The policy lineage extends back to at least October 2025, when an FCC fact sheet noted that the Hudson Institute recommended the commission prohibit authorization of all equipment containing a range of components, including optical transceivers FCC.

The security argument rests on the role these components play deep inside infrastructure. Experts say Chinese datacenter components could allow Chinese firms to steal data, install malware, or disrupt service if embedded in US infrastructure. Some Trump administration officials have cited Huawei's deeply embedded equipment in US infrastructure as an example to argue for the new restrictions, pointing to the difficulty and cost of ripping out equipment once it is deployed at scale.

The transceiver measure sits within a broader escalation. In July 2026, the FCC announced a ban on China's advanced humanoid robots. The Trump administration is also reportedly considering restricting the use of Chinese open-source AI models. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested China could be sanctioned for theft of US data and intellectual property. In April 2026, the FCC said it was considering banning Chinese telecom companies that own data centers in the United States Reuters.

Beijing has signaled it will not absorb these measures quietly. China Unicom warned in June 2026 that the planned US crackdown on Chinese telecom equipment could disrupt global communications. The Chinese embassy in Washington urged the US to stop smearing Chinese companies and threatening them with sanctions, and said China "will take all necessary measures in response to any action causing material harm to its interests."

The stakes for the datacenter supply chain are considerable. If the FCC proceeds, operators sourcing transceivers from Chinese vendors would need to shift procurement to non-Chinese suppliers, many of which would be exempt under the measure as currently drafted. The question is whether non-Chinese manufacturers like Coherent Corp. can absorb the volume at competitive price points, and how quickly the supply chain can reorient. The FCC's identification of Coherent and INNOLIGHT as the two key players suggests a concentrated market where substitution is possible but not frictionless.

The broader context here is a deliberate, sequential closing of perceived supply-chain vulnerabilities. The transceiver ban would extend the Covered List logic, which already covers routers, telecom equipment, and robotics, into the photonic layer of datacenter infrastructure. Each step has narrowed the space for Chinese components in US networks. The transceiver measure, if published this year, would be the first to target a component so deeply embedded in the physical fabric of cloud and enterprise computing, where replacement is costly and downtime is measured in revenue lost per minute.

Whether the FCC finalizes the measure in its current form or modifies it will depend on internal deliberations that, per Reuters, remain fluid. What is clear is the direction of travel: the Covered List is expanding, the categories of restricted equipment are multiplying, and the gap between US and Chinese technology supply chains continues to widen.