US Government Bans New Foreign-Made Humanoids, Robot Dogs, and Solar Inverters

The Trump administration has announced a ban on the import of new foreign-made humanoid robots, robot dogs, and power inverters, citing an "unacceptable" threat to national security.

The US Federal Communications Commission announced the ban on Tuesday, saying that devices made overseas could be remotely controlled or used for surveillance by foreign governments, or otherwise used in cyberattacks.

The FCC said that exceptions would be granted if the government finds that a device does not pose a risk to U.S. national security.

Humanoid robots, the class of robots that move similarly to humans, are far from mainstream and are still in early development. There have been around 15,000 humanoid robots shipped worldwide in 2025, with each of China's two largest robot makers accounting for the majority of those shipments.

Power inverters are far more commonly used in U.S. households that connect solar and other renewable energy systems to the wider power grid. Existing devices in homes and installations are unaffected by the ban, the FCC said.

The ban is the latest in a series of actions taken by the U.S. government against China in recent years, including a U.S. government ban on TikTok that forced it into the hands of U.S. investors, plus bans on a broad swath of foreign-made consumer routers, and Chinese surveillance equipment makers Hikvision and Dahua, which have been linked to human rights abuses.

Beijing rebuffed the FCC's ban, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson quoted by the Associated Press as saying that China will use "all measures necessary" to protect China's businesses.

Chinese Premier Xi Jinping is expected to meet President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. during a planned state visit in September.

• The ban largely affects imports from China, which currently has the vast majority of the global market share.
• Humanoid robots are far from mainstream and are still in early development.
• Power inverters are commonly used in U.S. households that connect solar and other renewable energy systems to the wider power grid.