China holds 85% of the global humanoid robot market. The US just barred foreign-made units from US sale.

The FCC added two new categories to its Covered List this week: 'advanced robotic devices' (humanoid and quadruped mobile robots) and connected power inverters, the DC-to-AC power-conversion gear used in solar arrays, EVs, and grid systems. The Covered List is the FCC's national-security import-restriction tool, previously populated mostly by Chinese telecom and surveillance vendors. Adding a category bars the FCC from authorizing covered equipment for US sale.

The trigger is procedural, not editorial. The commission can only update the list 'at the direction of national security authorities,' FCC Chair Brendan Carr said, framing the move as acting 'in lock step with our national security agencies' to 'secure America's critical supply chains.'

China's humanoid makers hold roughly 85% of the global market by one widely cited AP estimate, which is why a category-level block has supply-chain weight rather than symbolic punch. The first pressure points are likely US robotics integrators, warehouse operators, and research labs that have relied on cheaper Chinese units.

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chair of the House Select Committee on China, framed the move as blocking 'Chinese robots with backdoors' that share data with the CCP. Beijing's response came from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning: China will take 'all measures necessary' to defend its companies, and 'protectionism does not make the U.S. more competitive.'

What remains open: the FCC has not published a transition window for already-shipped inventory, and it is unclear how 'foreign-produced' will apply to kits assembled from non-Chinese parts in third countries.