The Trump administration is banning the import of new foreign-made humanoid robots, robot dogs, and power inverters, citing an “unacceptable” threat to national security. The move largely affects imports from China, which currently has the vast majority of the global market share.
on Tuesday, saying that devices made overseas could be remotely controlled or used for surveillance by foreign governments, or otherwise used in cyberattacks.
The FCC said that exceptions would be granted if the government finds that a device does not pose a risk to U.S. national security.
The U.S. government has long accused China of hacking into U.S. businesses to steal data and
for its own military gains, such as an anticipated invasion of Taiwan. But the U.S. has also long warned that the risk of Chinese ownership alone could allow Beijing to force a company to spy on Americans or remotely tamper with their products. The U.S. government has
Humanoid robots, the class of robots that move similarly to humans, are far from mainstream and are
15,000 humanoid robots shipped worldwide in 2025, with each of China’s two largest robot makers accounting for the majority of those shipments.
are far more commonly used in U.S. households to connect solar and other renewable energy systems to the wider power grid. Existing devices in homes and installations are unaffected by the ban, the FCC said.
The ban is the latest in a series of actions taken by the U.S. government against China in recent years, including
that forced it into the hands of U.S. investors, plus bans on a broad swath of
, and Chinese surveillance equipment makers Hikvision and Dahua, which have
Beijing rebuffed the FCC’s ban, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson quoted by
as saying that China will use “all measures necessary” to protect its businesses.
Chinese president Xi Jinping is expected to meet President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., during a planned state visit in September.