New York [US], August 1: The Trump administration on Tuesday unveiled 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.
The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday afternoon released 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 restrictions, as first reported by Reuters, 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.
"These devices could create supply chain vulnerabilities that could disrupt U.S. economic and national security and could create a cybersecurity risk that threatened American critical infrastructure," the FCC said in a statement.
"The FCC will continue to do our part to secure America's critical supply chains," FCC Chairman Brendan Carr added in the press release.
The Chinese embassy in Washington said Beijing "urges the United States to heed the objective and rational voices of the business communities in both countries" and "stop smearing Chinese companies and threatening them with sanctions."
China's government will "take all necessary measures in response to any action that causes material harm to its interests," the embassy said.
Some analysts forecast broad adoption of humanoid robots, topped with AI-enabled "brains," in consumer and industrial arenas, while explosive data-center construction in the U.S. will depend on reliable sources of inverters.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that Chinese AI firms could face U.S. sanctions for stealing U.S. intellectual property.
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.
Following Tuesday's actions, the FCC is 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 measures, which went into effect upon publication, apply only to robot and inverter models that have not yet been released.
However, the FCC has the authority to revoke authorizations for sales of models that have already been authorized for purchase in the United States.
President Donald Trump is credited with bringing international attention to the tech threat posed by China during his first term, giving voice to concerns about intellectual property theft by Chinese firms, and the threat of state-sponsored spying by Chinese telecom juggernauts like Huawei [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL] .
But he has so far taken a much more dovish approach during his second term, faced with Beijing's aggressive use of export controls on rare earth minerals last year.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
