The United States is banning humanoids and other advanced robots manufactured outside the United States, the FCC announced, saying “advanced robotic devices” pose a threat to national security. Foreign-made inverters have also been considered a security risk.
An FCC press release cites unnamed national security agencies. “In their decisions, national security agencies have referenced, among other things, unacceptable risks, including that these devices could create vulnerabilities in the supply chain that could disrupt the economic and national security of the United States and create a cybersecurity risk threatening American critical infrastructure,” he added.
As with an earlier ban on routers manufactured outside the United States, the government has justified the bans as consistent with the White House’s 2025 national security strategy, which calls for the reshoring of industrial production “with an emphasis on critical and emerging technology sectors.” Unlike the stricter router ban, the robot and inverter bans use the “Buy American” law to judge where a device is manufactured, which generally allows the use of certain foreign parts in a U.S.-made product.
The FCC cites quadrupeds and humanoid robots as types of “advanced” devices covered by the ban, although there are exceptions for those used by the War Department and the Department of Homeland Security. “As our reliance on advanced robotic devices for critical infrastructure protection, manufacturing, and U.S. military dominance increases, it is critical that we have a secure domestic supply chain and industrial base for advanced robots,” the FCC writes. “The networked capabilities of advanced robotic systems create significant vulnerabilities and attack vectors that can manipulate the data and physical operation of the advanced robotic system. Relying on advanced robotic devices produced overseas presents unacceptable supply chain and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The agency uses similar reasoning in its ban on inverters, which specifically covers devices that convert current And also feature Wi-Fi, cellular, or Bluetooth connectivity. “Any unanticipated manipulation or interruption of the supply of inverters or the inverters themselves would likely compromise the electricity supply of the United States and, by extension, threaten the economic prosperity and national security of the United States,” the FCC states. But, as with the router ban earlier this year, banning all foreign-made inverters could prove difficult, at least in the short term. The broad wording of the FCC’s definition of inverter would apparently include all battery backups that have an AC outlet and an associated application, although these are not specifically named and may be exempt.
The FCC cites a Department of Energy assessment that notes that many inverter components “are almost entirely produced (outside the United States)” and that without moving production of these components to the United States, it will be “difficult” to reduce associated security risks. As with robots, companies can request conditional approval to continue selling their devices in the United States.
