FCC chair says robot import restrictions aim to boost US production

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) – The chair of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, said on Thursday that restrictions targeting imports of Chinese robots and power inverters are aimed at quickly spurring U.S. production and addressing national security risks.

The FCC, which regulates U.S. telecommunications, has banned new models of foreign drones, routers, robots and power inverters since December, granting waivers to non-Chinese suppliers while effectively shutting out Chinese manufacturers.

“We’re telling people that now is the time to onshore a lot of the investment and develop it into what could be critical elements of our national security,” Carr said, adding, “We don’t want to be in a situation five years from now where you’ve got many thousands or millions of these types of devices that are a national security risk.”

The FCC last month barred Chinese imports of new humanoid and quadruped robots and connected power inverters, which enable renewable energy sources and batteries to connect to grids and data center equipment. 

Reuters reported earlier this week that the FCC was drafting a ban on U.S. imports of new models of Chinese data center components, known as optical transceivers, as it seeks to protect the infrastructure that undergirds the AI boom.

When asked about the report, Carr deferred to the national security agencies that direct the FCC to take action on technology that it determines poses a national security risk.

“The decision about what to add is one that’s driven by the executive branch, national security agencies. They make the decision. We then implement the decision they make. So I’d refer you to them for any comment on what, if anything, they may have next,” he said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter and Sanjeev Miglani)