U.S. announced sweeping new import restrictions targeting Chinese-made hardware tied to the artificial intelligence and energy supply chains.
The Trump administration on Tuesday plans to unveil bans that target imports of new 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 restrictions, rolled out via the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), explicitly bar imports of new humanoid and quadruped robots, alongside connected power inverters used for data centers and renewable grids.
U.S. officials stated that advanced robots which rely heavily on sensors, continuous data processing, and AI, pose serious risks regarding potential corporate espionage, unauthorized data collection, remote-control vulnerabilities, and cyberattacks.
“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.
“Economic security is national security, and the Trump administration continues to implement a nuanced and multi-faceted policy agenda to reindustrialize America,” he added.
Securing power inverters and advanced hardware is viewed by the administration as critical to shielding the rapid expansion of U.S. data centers and electrical grids from supply chain manipulation.
Beyond national security, the policy is designed to push companies away from foreign dependencies and encourage the domestic manufacturing of robotics and critical infrastructure inside the United States.
