US bans imports of Chinese robots and solar power inverters over security fears

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The Trump administration Tuesday halted imports of advanced robots and a type of power equipment frequently used in solar energy projects, in the latest outgrowth of White House alarm about security threats from China.

The restrictions, announced by the Federal Communications Commission, follow recent steps to limit imports of foreign-made drones and wireless routers. Tuesday’s move would sweep in mobile robots, such as humanoids or quadrupeds, as well as power inverters that are often deployed to connect solar energy to the electric grid.

The move appears in line with two huge priorities of Donald Trump’s second presidency — countering Chinese competition in artificial intelligence and thwarting the rise of clean energy, a technology that China dominates worldwide.

“Following President Trump’s leadership, the FCC will continue to do our part to secure America’s critical supply chains and, with today’s action, the FCC is acting in lock step with our national security agencies to do just that,” Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement.

A Trump administration interagency group determined that these forms of technology pose a risk to the country’s supply chain and could allow for cybersecurity vulnerabilities exposing U.S. critical infrastructure, for example by triggering widespread power blackouts or enabling spying on Americans.

The FCC updated its list of risky electronic equipment and services to reflect these new concerns — a step that blocks the authorization of the equipment and prevents the use of those devices within the U.S.

The FCC action will only affect new models of these devices and won’t curb people’s flexibility to use equipment they may already have or stop stores from selling previously authorized models. The decision won’t affect the federal government’s purchasing or use.

The administration is including a waiver process allowing for exemptions, as it has done with other tech such as drones and routers. Producers of these advanced robots and power inverters can seek conditional approval for new models from the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security through an FCC application process.

The FCC posted the determinations for both robotics and inverters laying out the perceived risks.

“The networked capabilities of advanced robotic systems create extensive vulnerabilities and vectors for attacks that can manipulate the data and physical operation of the advanced robotic system,” one determination said. “Relying on foreign-produced advanced robotic devices presents unacceptable supply chain and cybersecurity vulnerabilities . . . Advanced robotic devices collect data that could be leveraged by malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots.”