FCC bans foreign robots and inverters over China fears

This article was published on July 29, 2026 The FCC added foreign-made humanoid robots and grid inverters to its Covered List, blocking new imports on national-security grounds. The text says "any nationality." The target is China. The United States has moved to block new imports of foreign-made robots and power inverters. Officials fear a hostile power could spy through them, or switch them off from afar. The order never says China. It does not need to. The Federal Communications Commission added two categories to its Covered List on Tuesday, as first reported by CNBC. One is “advanced robotic devices,” meaning mobile robots such as humanoids and quadrupeds. The other is connected power inverters, the boxes that connect solar panels, batteries and data-centre gear to the grid. Landing on the Covered List is a hard commercial block. Equipment on it cannot get FCC authorisation. Almost every electronic device needs that clearance before it can reach the US market. It is the same lever the agency pulled on DJI drones and Huawei network kit. Read the FCC document and one thing stands out. It restricts foreign-produced robots and inverters “regardless of the nationality of origin.” The