The US shuts the door on new foreign robots: where Chinese humanoids go next

On 28 July 2026 the US Federal Communications Commission added foreign-produced humanoid robots, quadrupeds and other mobile robots — along with connected power inverters — to its Covered List. New models on that list cannot receive the equipment authorisation needed to import, market or sell them in the United States. The rule is formally country-neutral, but the target is plain: Chinese makers hold an estimated 85% of the global humanoid market.

What the rule covers

• Which robots: ground-mobile machines heavier than about 2 kg with an environmental sensor, a network connection and navigation or perception software. Fixed industrial robot arms, drones, vehicles and medical robots are excluded.
• What counts as foreign: anything that is not a US “domestic end product” — made in the US, with domestic components above 65% of component cost. Place of production decides, not the owner's nationality.
• The exception: a Conditional Approval from the US Department of War, which asks the maker for a time-bound plan to build or expand manufacturing in the US.
• Not affected: robots already in use and models authorised before 28 July, which can still be imported and sold.

The FCC's reasoning is that connected devices made abroad could be remotely controlled, used for surveillance by foreign governments or exploited in cyberattacks. China's foreign ministry called the step protectionism and promised “all measures necessary” to defend its companies.

Why Europe moves to the front

For the next generation of Chinese humanoids and robot dogs, the US is now effectively closed unless production moves there. The EU's own step on connected equipment from China concerned inverters, not robots: in April it limited EU funding for energy projects that use inverters from high-risk suppliers, China among them. That leaves Europe as the main Western market still open — and the groundwork is laid. In February AGIBOT launched its portfolio in Munich with Minth Group as its European sales agent, and humanoid assembly in Šabac is due to start by the end of August.

One consequence is easy to miss. Under the US test, any robot made outside the US is foreign-produced, including one assembled in Šabac. A Serbian line does not reopen the American door; its realistic customers are in Europe and other markets outside the US.

What it means for buyers in the region

• No legal change here. The FCC list has no force in Serbia or the EU. In the EU, CE marking and EU product rules decide what can be sold, including the Machinery Regulation that applies from January 2027.
• More supply — possibly. Models shut out of the US need other buyers. Whether that turns into earlier European launches or lower prices is not yet visible, and it is no reason to rush or delay a purchase.
• Local service weighs more. A model sold everywhere except the US depends on the maker's support outside it. Ask who handles spare parts, repairs and software updates in the region, and for how long.
• The security questions apply here too. Where does the robot's data go, does it work without a cloud connection, and who can push updates to it? The answers matter wherever the robot was made.

What we'll watch

Whether Chinese makers now bring new models to Europe first, whether Šabac meets its end-of-August date, and whether the EU extends its caution about connected equipment from inverters to robots.

Sources

• FCC — Public Notice DA 26-786: power inverters and advanced robotic devices added to the Covered List
• Al Jazeera — US bans imports of new Chinese robots over security concerns
• NBC News — U.S. bans foreign-made humanoid robots, targeting China
• TechCrunch — US government bans new foreign-made humanoids, robot dogs and solar inverters
• pv magazine — EU moves to restrict funding for projects using inverters from high-risk suppliers