Senator Tom Cotton Urges Commerce Department to Prohibit TP-Link Equipment Sales

Strategic Insights -

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) has written a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, urging the department to prohibit sales of TP-Link equipment in the United States due to its deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and potential risks to national security. The letter, signed by 17 senators and 3 congressmen, highlights TP-Link's predatory pricing, circumvention of tariffs, and role in embedding foreign surveillance capabilities into US networks.

TP-Link's state-sponsored status and refusal to engage in industry efforts to remediate Chinese state-sponsored botnets have raised concerns among lawmakers. The company's pricing practices have triggered a Department of Justice criminal antitrust probe, and its market capture rate has reached nearly 60% of the US retail router and Wi-Fi system market. The CCP uses small and home office (SOHO) equipment for ongoing espionage and targeting of critical infrastructure, posing a significant threat to American security.

Key Takeaways:

  • 20 lawmakers, including Senator Tom Cotton and Congressman Riley Moore, have signed a letter urging the Commerce Department to prohibit sales of TP-Link equipment due to national security risks.
  • TP-Link has captured nearly 60% of the US retail router and Wi-Fi system market, posing a threat to American competitors.
  • The company's pricing practices have triggered a Department of Justice criminal antitrust probe.
  • TP-Link is a state-sponsored company with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
  • The CCP uses SOHO equipment for ongoing espionage and targeting of critical infrastructure.
  • TP-Link's equipment has been exploited by CCP agents to wage cyber-attacks in the United States.
  • The company is subject to China's National Security Law, giving the CCP access to US systems before American authorities know a vulnerability exists.
  • TP-Link refuses to engage in industry efforts to remediate Chinese state-sponsored botnets.

Statistics:

  • 20 lawmakers have signed the letter urging the Commerce Department to prohibit sales of TP-Link equipment (Senator Tom Cotton, Congressman Riley Moore, and 17 senators, 3 congressmen).
  • TP-Link has captured nearly 60% of the US retail router and Wi-Fi system market.
  • 17 senators and 3 congressmen have signed the letter in support of the Commerce Department's investigation of TP-Link.
  • The Department of Justice has launched a criminal antitrust probe against TP-Link due to its pricing practices.
  • TP-Link's state-sponsored status is a result of its deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Sources:

  • Letter from Senator Tom Cotton to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (May 14, 2025)
  • Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into TP-Link's pricing practices
  • President Trump's Executive Order 13873 to allow the Commerce Department to prohibit transactions in the US that pose unacceptable risk to national security