Trump administration to ban new Chinese humanoid robots, protecting US AI buildout

As part of the measures slated to be announced on Tuesday, the FCC will ban foreign imports of new models of targeted technologies and is then expected to exempt many non-Chinese suppliers from the restrictions, as it has done with recent bans on foreign drones and routers, four additional sources said.

The restrictions, which will go into effect upon publication, will apply only to robot and inverter models that have not yet been released, another U.S. official said. However, the FCC has the authority to revoke authorizations for sales of models that have already been authorized for purchase in the United States.

U.S. officials are also keen to avoid another scenario as happened with rare earth minerals — critical inputs for tech manufacturing so dominated by China that Beijing has been able to leverage access to them to secure big wins on the international stage.

Authorities want to avoid another Chinese government-linked hacking campaign like the one dubbed Volt Typhoon, revealed in 2023. By taking control of privately owned routers, the attackers sought to hide subsequent attacks on American critical infrastructure.