From PC Mag: Facing the US’s foreign-made router ban, TP-Link plans to partner with domestic electronics manufacturer Key Tronic Corporation to assemble Wi-Fi 8 routers in Mississippi.
Key Tronic is headquartered in Spokane Valley, Washington, and got its start making keyboards before expanding to contract manufacturing for a variety of electronics. On Monday, it signed a “letter of intent” with TP-Link to assemble Wi-Fi 8 routers in its Corinth, Mississippi, facility “as early as next year.”
TP-Link also hopes the announcement pushes other Wi-Fi vendors to make their own manufacturing commitments in the US, says corporate affairs officer Steve Kovsky. He also notes the manufacturing investment will help the Trump administration and the FCC achieve its goal of securing the supply chain and reshoring US tech manufacturing.
The news might seem like the foreign-made router ban will no longer affect TP-Link since it’ll be assembling the routers stateside. But a lingering issue is that TP-Link still needs to source components from overseas. “Many [components] are just not available from a domestic source, and this is not a TP-Link issue. This is an issue for all manufacturers that are trying to onshore manufacturing,” Kovsky says.
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