Reuters: U.S. reportedly preparing ban on Chinese inverters

<p>According to an exclusive report from Reuters, the Trump administration is currently drafting a secret proposal to ban imports of foreign-made inverters. As the “brain” connecting solar projects, energy storage systems, and the national grid, inverters have once again become a focal point at the intersection of energy technology and geopolitics.</p><p>Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the proposed restriction, led by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), would directly target “new inverter models entering the U.S. market” and is highly likely to be formally introduced within this year.</p><p>This move is not seen as isolated. In May this year, the European Commission already took similar action by banning Chinese-made inverters from participating in certain publicly funded energy projects. It is difficult not to associate Europe’s aggressive stance with a potential acceleration of similar measures being drafted in the United States. Policymakers and some lawmakers in the U.S. argue that heavy reliance on Chinese inverters could pose potential risks to grid security and supply chain resilience. Some security experts have even claimed that, during inspections of certain Chinese equipment, unknown communication devices not disclosed in product documentation were discovered.</p><p>Although the proposed ban still faces uncertainty and may be revised or shelved, the momentum is already building. Under the U.S. Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Department of Defense has already been prohibited from procuring solar and inverter equipment from Chinese entities. In addition, previous FCC restrictions on foreign drones and routers, which operate under a waiver-based approval system, have seen no successful breakthroughs by Chinese companies so far. This suggests that once the inverter ban is implemented, new Chinese products could face near-total barriers to entry into the U.S. market.</p><p>The implications of this policy shift for the global clean energy market are significant. As the world’s largest inverter manufacturing base, Chinese companies led by Sungrow and Huawei have rapidly gained market share in Western markets in recent years, driven by strong cost competitiveness. This momentum is now expected to face serious resistance in North America and Europe.</p><p>Beyond the United States, Europe is also preparing further measures. The EU is reportedly planning to update its Cybersecurity Act to establish a risk-based supplier classification framework, which could potentially place certain Chinese inverter suppliers on future blacklist categories. The alignment of U.S. and EU approaches reflects an unprecedented synchronization in the “de-risking” and “de-Chinaization” of the clean energy sector.</p><p>In response, the Chinese Embassy in the United States strongly opposed the move, rejecting the politicization of national security and the unfair suppression of Chinese companies, and called on the U.S. to provide a fair and non-discriminatory business environment. Against a tightening policy landscape, global renewable energy companies expanding overseas will inevitably face an increasingly uncertain operating environment.</p><p>For more details and updates, please refer to the original <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-working-ban-targeting-chinese-energy-inverters-sources-say-2026-06-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><u>Reuters report.</u></a></p>