FCC: U.S. to Ban Chinese-Made Humanoid and 4-Legged Robots | Manufacturing News Desk
Autonomous robots in a factory. The U.S. said it is banning humanoid robots imported from China.
The White House said it is banning imported Chinese-made humanoid robots to protect America’s artificial intelligence industry and security interests.
The ban, announced Tuesday by the Federal Trade Commission (FCC), also includes “quadrupled” or four-legged robots and connected power inverters, which allows batteries and renewable energy sources to connect to data centers and the electrical grid. It also includes made-in-China robot vacuum cleaners, such as the popular Roomba brand. Robot vacuums already in the U.S. are not included in the ban.
The decision to ban the robots is an effort to protect American AI companies from Chinese competition while the Trump administration encourages manufacturers to move production to the U.S. Chinese robots also present a security risk to Americans, the FCC said.
“A White House-convened executive branch interagency body determined that all foreign-produced advanced robotic devices pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons,” the organization said in a statement.
Chinese officials strongly criticized the U.S. government’s decision. A story on ChinaDaily.com.cn, a news site owned by the Chinese Communist Party, said the decision was “market distortion and unilateral bullying.”
“Despite repeated representations from China and the restraint it has exercised, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has continued to introduce and escalate restrictive measures, seriously harming China’s legitimate trade interests and undermining the stability of China-U.S. economic and trade relations,” a spokesperson for China’s ministry of commerce said.
