AIBRIEF
The agency will use its own equipment authorization authority to block Chinese humanoid and four legged robots, plus the grid inverters that feed solar, batteries, and data centers into the electrical grid.
The Federal Communications Commission is set to bar imports of new Chinese humanoid robots, four-legged quadruped robots, and connected power inverters starting Tuesday, using its own equipment-authorization authority rather than the Section 301 or Section 232 tariff schedule.
Humanoid robots are AI-enabled, two-legged machines pitched for factory floors and homes; power inverters are the devices that let solar arrays, batteries, and data-center equipment feed into the electrical grid. The pairing treats the AI data-center buildout and the grid that powers it as one supply-chain problem.
An unnamed administration official told Reuters the President "has made clear that the United States must have independent and secure supply chains for critical and emerging technologies like robotic devices and power inverters" (Reuters via LiveMint). The administration says the move is meant to block Chinese supply-chain disruption, data theft, and cyberattacks, and to push manufacturers to reshore.
Officials cited China's past use of rare-earth export leverage as the cautionary precedent. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has previously warned that Chinese AI firms could face U.S. sanctions for stealing U.S. intellectual property.
The FCC is expected to exempt most non-Chinese suppliers, following the pattern of recent drone and router restrictions. Effective dates, exemption criteria, and how the agency will coordinate with Commerce and Treasury on Chinese hardware already deployed in U.S. data centers remain undisclosed.
CNBC carries the wire. The BIS Section 232 track is the parallel robotics-and-machinery national-security probe.