Trump administration to ban new Chinese robots and inverters, protecting U.S. AI buildout

The Trump administration on Tuesday plans to unveil new bans that target imports of the latest Chinese robots and power inverters, seeking to protect the U.S. AI buildout from national security threats and reshore key industries slated for explosive growth, U.S. officials said.

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday afternoon plans to roll out the measures, which bar Chinese imports of new humanoid and quadruped robots — in addition to connected power inverters, which enable renewable energy sources and batteries to connect to grids and data center equipment, the people said.

The restrictions, whose imminent release has not been previously reported, show the Trump administration is aiming to safeguard the U.S. artificial intelligence supply chain from Chinese threats of disruption, data theft and cyberattacks, while also driving firms to shift manufacturing to the U.S.

"The President has made clear that the United States must have independent and secure supply chains for critical and emerging technologies like robotic devices and power inverters," said an administration official, who declined to be named because the matter was not public.

"Economic security is national security, and the Trump administration continues to implement a nuanced and multi-faceted policy agenda to reindustrialize America," he added.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.