The U.S. government is forcing a rapid onshoring of robotics through a sweeping ban on foreign-made robots, even before an American supply chain exists, putting at risk the very robotics startups the policy is trying to cultivate.
The Federal Communications Commission last month added “advanced robotic devices” to its list of banned devices that pose national security risks. Under the rule, new models of foreign-made humanoids, quadrupeds, and even robot vacuums as well as lawn mowers will be banned from the American market.
To qualify for entry, a robot needs to be assembled in the U.S. and must have at least 65% of its components by value produced domestically. The required share of domestic parts will rise to 75% in 2029. The ban is not targeted at any single country, but is widely seen as aimed at China, which dominates robotics manufacturing.
The policy does not affect devices already being sold in the U.S., and robots imported to support product development, not for sale, will continue to be allowed. Still, startup founders struggle to see how they can manufacture commercial robots without China’s comprehensive electronics supply chain.
“Look at Apple, it’s made in China. How do you expect even more complicated products like robots to be built in America?” Anto Patrex, founder of CosmicBrain AI in San Francisco, told Rest of World. “I have no idea. Till now, we are all figuring it out.”
Patrex’s company aims to make robots that fetch deliveries and carry laundry in apartment buildings. Like most robotics entrepreneurs in the Bay Area, he experimented with Chinese robots and had his first products assembled in China. In early 2026, sensing growing U.S. scrutiny of Chinese robots, Patrex set up an additional assembly facility in Canada, with key components coming from China, meaning these robots wouldn’t qualify for sale in the U.S. under the latest FCC rule.
Elizabeth Williams, the New York-based founder of Gemma, which designs home beauty cosmetics robots that apply makeup for people, told Rest of World her company was also working with a Chinese manufacturer to build its prototypes. “It would have been impossible to do that here,” Williams said. “If we’re not going to work with prototyping and iterating quickly in China, then tell us how you’re going to incentivize manufacturing firms here and robotics founders here.”
American robotics entrepreneurs said they shared the security concerns about Chinese products, but that it would be difficult to meet the stringent made-in-America requirements. Many robotics components are too expensive, too slow to procure, or completely unavailable in the U.S. To get components faster, employees at Silicon Valley companies had even flown from China to the U.S. with robot parts in their suitcases, The Informationreported.
Michael Perry, head of commercial strategy at Persona AI, a Houston-based startup that is developing industrial humanoid robots, told Rest of World that even before the FCC ban, U.S. clients had been requesting robots with no Chinese components for security reasons. Perry said Persona AI had been sourcing parts from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Italy.
But the company still needs to work toward satisfying the latest FCC rule requiring 65% made-in-American components, Perry said. In addition to banning foreign products, he added, the U.S. government should be doing more to grow the domestic supply chains. “You need to provide the carrot as well as the stick,” Perry said. “Right now, you’re only providing the stick.”
How China pulled ahead to dominance
Over the past four decades, as U.S. tech companies outsourced manufacturing to less expensive countries, China took a very different path. Beijing’s state support, a strong engineering talent pipeline, and an abundance of low-cost labor built up the world’s most efficient and comprehensive electronics manufacturing industry — Apple assembles about 80% of iPhones in China and sources many components from the country.
The recent rise of electric vehicles in China has also spurred the growth of industries making sensors, batteries, and actuators, which convert energy into physical motion. These components are also needed for robots. The proximity to manufacturers in southern China has allowed Chinese robot makers to develop prototypes much faster than their international peers.
Chinese robots are now some of the most dexterous and affordable products in the market. In 2025, nearly 90% of all humanoids sold globally were Chinese, according to research firm Omdia. Many American startups and university labs use Unitree robots to conduct experiments and develop robotics software.
The U.S. government has come to view the rise of Chinese robots as a national security threat. The Covered List was created by the Congress in 2021 to give the FCC authority to ban devices that pose national security risks. Foreign-made drones, routers, and products from Chinese telecom equipment makers Huawei and ZTE have previously been added to the list.
In adding robots to the Covered List, the FCC cited security vulnerabilities found in Unitree robots and an incident in which a DJI robot vacuum user accidentally gained access to 7,000 other robots through a system loophole. DJI, China’s leading drone maker, also makes cameras, microphones, and robot vacuums.
Among Washington’s goals is preventing the early success of Chinese robots from developing into a long-term supply chain dependence in the U.S. “The least expensive and easiest time to address a supply chain dependency is right now,” said Adam Chan, senior adviser to FCC chairperson Brendan Carr, on the ChinaTalkpodcast. Chan said the ban would incentivize the robotics industry to start moving manufacturing to the U.S.
Companies that wish to import foreign robots can apply for conditional approval, but they must submit an onshoring plan detailing how they plan to establish manufacturing in the U.S.
Support from some startups
Kyle Chan, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Rest of World that a more gradual approach, such as slowly increasing tariffs on Chinese robots and components, would be better at cultivating the American robotics industry. The current ban is too broad and risks burdening startups with the high manufacturing costs, he said. “It can really hold back U.S. robotics innovation,” said Chan.
The FCC has previously banned new foreign-made drones and internet routers from the U.S. market. While older models can still be sold, the Trump administration last week announced new tariffs on drones, which it said would bolster the domestic drone industry and supply chain.
The latest FCC ban has added to growing trade tensions between the U.S. and China. China’s Ministry of Commerce criticized the U.S. for disrupting international trade and “overstretching the national security concept.” In August, Beijing imposed trade restrictions on several American entities and tightened export controls on drones sold to the U.S., citing the FCC decision and a separate blacklisting of Chinese firms over alleged labor abuses in Xinjiang.
Some robot makers have welcomed the import ban, hoping it will protect them from cheaper Chinese competition in the long run.
Agility Robotics, which assembles its warehouse robots in Oregon, said in a statement that the FCC rule was an important step toward addressing the national and economic security concerns posed by foreign robots. The company also advocated for “maintaining access to all of the tools and technologies” to advance robotics research. It couldn’t be determined whether Agility currently sources at least 65% of its components domestically. The company did not respond to an inquiry from Rest of World.
Antonio Li, founder of San Francisco-based Nori Robotics, said the company mostly uses motors and actuators made in Asia, but expects the FCC rule to spur the growth of American suppliers.
Although the FCC ban could “raise some complications with the supply chain,” it is also drawing researchers and customers toward American robot makers, Li said.
“The new ban is going to force all the researchers and software-based companies to buy U.S. instead,” he said. “For us, it’s no doubt a positive thing.”
