The Trump administration is writing rules that would stop US companies from importing new Chinese data-center parts. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is developing a ban on a specific component called an optical transceiver, according to four people who spoke with Reuters The Guardian. The ban would cover all new models of these Chinese parts, while many non-Chinese suppliers would be exempt Reuters. Officials hope to publish the rules this year, though they could still change or be dropped.

Optical transceivers are small devices that turn electrical signals into light signals. That conversion lets data travel at very high speeds through fiber-optic cables between the servers and storage systems inside a data center. Chinese companies make most of these parts worldwide. An FCC document names Coherent Corp. (a US company) and INNOLIGHT (a Chinese company) as the two biggest players in this market FCC. Zhongji Innolight, one of the largest sellers of these parts globally, would likely be affected by the ban. In June 2026, it was added to a Pentagon list of companies suspected of having ties to the Chinese military.

The ban would use something called the FCC's Covered List. The Covered List is a set of rules that blocks certain foreign devices from getting FCC approval, which they need to be legally imported FCC. The FCC has been expanding this list. On July 16, 2026, it banned more equipment from several Chinese manufacturers. On July 22, 2026, it voted to stop the sale of devices containing parts from Chinese companies that pose national-security risks Reuters. The FCC also finalized a ban on devices that were already approved but later added to the Covered List in 2024, according to an order published July 23, 2026 FCC. The policy traces back to at least October 2025, when an FCC fact sheet noted that a think tank called the Hudson Institute had recommended blocking all equipment containing certain components, including optical transceivers FCC.

The security concern is about how deep inside infrastructure these parts sit. Experts say that if Chinese data-center components were built into US systems, Chinese companies could use them to steal data, install harmful software, or disrupt service. Some Trump administration officials point to Huawei, the Chinese telecom company whose equipment is already deeply embedded in US networks, as a cautionary example. Once that kind of equipment is installed at large scale, removing it is difficult and expensive.

The transceiver ban is part of a larger pattern. In July 2026, the FCC announced a ban on China's advanced humanoid robots. The Trump administration is also reportedly looking at restricting Chinese open-source AI models. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested China could face sanctions (government-imposed penalties that restrict trade or financial activity) for stealing 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.

China has made clear it will push back. 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."

For the data-center supply chain, the impact could be significant. If the FCC moves forward, companies that buy these parts from Chinese suppliers would need to switch to non-Chinese ones, many of which would be allowed under the ban as currently written. The open question is whether non-Chinese manufacturers like Coherent Corp. can produce enough of these parts at a competitive price, and how fast the supply chain can adjust. The FCC naming only Coherent and INNOLIGHT as the key players suggests a market with few alternatives, where switching is possible but not simple.

The broader context here is a deliberate, step-by-step effort to close off what the US sees as supply-chain weaknesses. The transceiver ban would extend the Covered List approach, which already covers routers, telecom equipment, and robotics, into the light-carrying layer of data-center infrastructure. Each step has reduced the room for Chinese parts in US networks. If published this year, this would be the first measure to target a component buried this deep in the physical backbone of cloud computing and enterprise data centers, where replacing hardware is expensive and every minute of downtime costs money.

Whether the FCC finalizes the rules in their current form or changes them will depend on internal discussions that, per Reuters, are still in flux. What is clear is the direction: the Covered List is growing, more types of equipment are being restricted, and the gap between US and Chinese technology supply chains keeps widening.