Will TP-Link really make routers in the US? Here’s what it told us

TP-Link is proposing a domestic manufacturing operation in Corinth, Mississippi. It has signed a letter of intent with US contract manufacturer Key Tronic. The planned facility could assemble Wi-Fi 8 routers as early as next year. TP-Link describes more than simple final assembly. It may include surface-mount technology, testing, quality control, and plastic injection molding.

The project cannot move ahead freely because TP-Link needs the FCC to grant conditional approval, commonly described as a router import waiver. The company says it must import some components, including chips made outside the United States. Without approval, those imported parts could still block US production and sales.

TP-Link has not received a decision or clear signal from the FCC. It says it would invest nearly $1 billion and create hundreds of jobs, but the Mississippi plan remains conditional. The company also has not committed to making every US-bound router domestically.

A router import waiver is permission from the FCC to proceed under the administration’s foreign router ban. The article calls this permission “conditional approval.” It matters because TP-Link currently cannot freely bring its new Wi-Fi 8 routers into the United States. The waiver would remove that immediate regulatory obstacle.

US assembly does not mean every part is American. TP-Link says it buys chipsets from US companies such as Qualcomm and Broadcom, but those companies do not actually produce the chips in the United States. Other raw components may also come from overseas. The FCC therefore still has to decide whether these products count as US products under the ban.

TP-Link says it would prefer to have the waiver even if it begins manufacturing in Mississippi. The company’s proposed facility could perform substantial work, but its supply chain would remain international. That is why approval remains central to both production and US sales.

TP-Link says it is willing to invest nearly $1 billion in US production. That is a major proposed commitment for a company trying to overcome restrictions on its routers. The investment would support more than a sales operation. TP-Link describes research and development, manufacturing, and construction activity.

The company says the plan would create “hundreds of high-paying research and development, manufacturing, and construction jobs for American workers over the next four years.” Its initial arrangement is with US contract manufacturer Key Tronic. The partners could begin domestic assembly of Wi-Fi 8 routers in Corinth, Mississippi, as early as next year.

These figures remain proposed rather than guaranteed. TP-Link’s letter of intent depends on the FCC granting conditional approval. The company has not yet committed to all details, including whether every router sold in the United States would be made domestically. The investment and job total therefore describe the intended project.

If the FCC refuses the waiver, TP-Link’s proposed Mississippi operation would be unable to move forward under its current plan. The company says the letter of intent with Key Tronic hinges on FCC conditional approval. That makes the waiver a direct condition for beginning domestic assembly.

The immediate business problem is broader than the factory. TP-Link launched Wi-Fi 8 routers but cannot bring them to the United States because of the foreign router ban. Even a US facility would need imported components, including chips made outside the country. A denial could therefore leave the company without a workable route for those products.

The article does not state that TP-Link would leave the US or cancel every investment. It does establish that the proposed deal is conditional and that the FCC has not indicated whether approval is likely. TP-Link would need to reassess its US production and sales plans if approval does not arrive.

Final assembly in the United States means completing a product at a US facility, even when many parts arrive from other countries. The work can still be substantial. It may include mounting components, building the enclosure, testing the device, and packaging it for sale.

TP-Link describes its Vietnam operation as a model. Raw components enter the facility, then surface-mount technology, multiple quality checks, plastic injection molding, testing, and shrink-wrapping occur before finished routers leave. The company says it intends to perform similar work in Mississippi. That would be domestic manufacturing, but not necessarily entirely domestic production.

An entirely US-made router would also need US-made components. The administration’s stated goal is products with at least 65 percent of components made in America. TP-Link says meeting that standard would be challenging because many components are not produced in the United States. It has not committed to making every US-bound router domestically.

US-made components are difficult to use because American ownership or branding does not mean American production. TP-Link says it buys chipsets from US companies such as Qualcomm and Broadcom. However, those companies do not actually manufacture the chips in the United States. The parts would still enter the router supply chain from elsewhere.

This distinction matters because the proposed Mississippi plant would depend on imported components. TP-Link could perform surface mounting, testing, molding, and packaging in America, yet still lack enough domestic content to satisfy the administration’s stated goal. That goal calls for at least 65 percent of a product’s components to be made in the United States.

TP-Link says complying would be challenging in the short term because those components are mostly not produced domestically. The article does not identify a specific replacement supply chain. It shows instead that moving router assembly to America cannot instantly move the entire electronics ecosystem there.

Where routers are made is shaped by both politics and the electronics supply chain. Five states have sued over TP-Link’s alleged ties to China, while others ask the FCC not to grant a waiver. Critics claim TP-Link is a Chinese company posing as a US one and that its routers create security vulnerabilities. TP-Link rejects those claims.

The company says it does not sell customer data, share it with governments, or allow backdoors. It also says its products are not more vulnerable than those of other manufacturers. At the same time, TP-Link’s supply chain crosses borders. US companies may supply its chipsets, but the chips are not made in America. A US factory would still rely on imported parts.

That combination explains the uncertainty around production. The FCC must weigh the company’s ownership and supply-chain information while applying the router ban. TP-Link says it is open to transparency and negotiations. The article also notes that Netgear received a blanket waiver despite similar security controversies.