PVTIME – The United States Federal Communications Commission has updated its import restrictions on overseas inverters via two formal regulatory clarifications. The authority had previously added foreign-produced inverters to its list of communications products posing a national security risk, based on identified threats to domestic power infrastructure in the areas of supply chain and cybersecurity. Previous regulatory provisions required overseas manufacturers to obtain conditional FCC approval before supplying inverters to the US market.
The first revision adjusts the regulatory criteria for identifying foreign-manufactured inverters. According to industry legal analysis, the FCC previously referenced the Build America, Buy America framework, which classified inverters as domestic if they contained 65% locally sourced components. However, following consultation with the US Department of Defense, the FCC has revised this standard. It has been confirmed that any inverter that is eligible for the Inflation Reduction Act’s Section 45X advanced manufacturing tax credit is now considered a domestically produced product.
Official assessments from the US Department of Defense confirm that foreign inverters that comply with the tax credit do not pose unacceptable national security threats. Entities claiming the 45X incentive are already prohibited from receiving support from sanctioned foreign entities. Therefore, the current US administration has established that 45X-qualified inverters hold domestic product status irrespective of manufacturer origin.
The second clarification confirms that the restriction applies to all wired and wireless-enabled inverters, universally. Original regulatory concerns centred on unauthorised remote access by external parties. Additional guidance from the US Department of Defense confirms that these security vulnerabilities affect both wireless connections and wired network channels, including Ethernet interfaces.
The revised rules apply immediately to all newly released inverter models. All units previously installed and all inverters with pre-existing FCC approval remain compliant and may continue to be used operationally within the United States.
