The US bans the import of new humanoid robots from China

On July 28, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced measures to ban the import of “advanced robotic equipment”, including humanoid and quadruped animal-like robots, and connected power inverters – which allow renewable energy sources and batteries to connect to power grids and data center equipment.

According to the FCC, the above devices can create vulnerabilities in the supply chain, disrupt national security and the US economy, and pose cyber security risks and threaten critical infrastructure in this country. “The FCC will continue to do its part to protect America’s critical supply chains,” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Committee on China, welcomed the FCC’s move, calling on Congress to promote the policy and put it into federal law, because “it is very possible that one day, robots will be present in the homes and workplaces of Americans.”

SCMP said the order will prevent the import and sale of new equipment, without affecting previously purchased equipment. But Guardian commented that the FCC still has the right to revoke the sales license for models that have been licensed for sale in the US.

Theo ReutersUS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent once warned that Chinese AI companies could face US sanctions due to intellectual property theft. US officials also want to avoid repeating the scenario that happened with rare earths, a key input material for the production of technological equipment. China is so dominant in supply that it can take advantage of this access to resources to win major victories on the international stage.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Washington said that Beijing called on the US to listen to the objective and reasonable opinions of the business communities in both countries, and stop defaming and threatening Chinese businesses with sanctions. The Chinese government will “take all necessary measures to respond to any action that significantly harms its interests,” the agency added.

Previously, many analysts predicted that humanoid robots with AI “brains” would be widely applied in both consumer and industrial sectors, and that the booming wave of data center construction in the US would require a stable supply of inverters.

Theo APwith the status of “the world’s factory”, China leads in mass production capacity, hardware supply and humanoid robot training data collection. According to a report by investment bank Barclays, Chinese humanoid robots account for 85% of the world market share by 2025. Technology research company Omdia also said that more than 13,000 humanoid robots were shipped globally last year, of which the two leading robot companies, Agibot and Unitree, shipped more than 5,000 robots each. US competitors like Figure AI and Tesla only produce a few hundred robots or less.

China is also the world’s largest manufacturer of inverters. The two leading companies, Sungrow Power Supply and Huawei, have both been imposed heavy sanctions by the US. Data from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission shows that about 1/3 of inverters imported into the US in 2024 will originate directly from China.