U.S. ban on Chinese robots strands American startups - Rest of World

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Getty Images/Rest of World

By Viola Zhou

17 August 2026

The FCC added foreign-made robots to its Covered List, banning new models unless they are assembled in the U.S. and contain at least 65% domestic components by value.<br>The restrictions were enacted over national security concerns to prevent long-term reliance on foreign robotics supply chains, particularly from China.<br>Some U.S. robotics startups say that meeting the threshold is nearly impossible, others hope it will protect them from cheaper Chinese competition in the long run.

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.

Clients and founders share security concerns

“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.

You need to provide the carrot as well as the stick.”Michael Perry, head of commercial strategy at Houston-based Persona AI

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 Information reported.

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...