Who wins and who loses after US bans foreign robots?
Who wins and who loses after US bans foreign robots?
美国封杀外国机器人，谁是赢家，谁是输家？
Humanoid robots and four-legged robots made in China fall squarely under a new ban imposed by the US Federal Communications Commission on foreign-made robots. But the sweeping prohibition covers a wide variety of robots manufactured anywhere abroad, including the newest robot vacuum cleaners. 中国制造的人形机器人和四足机器人被明确列入美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）针对外国制造机器人实施的新禁令中。但这项广泛的禁令涵盖了在海外任何地方制造的各种机器人，包括最新的扫地机器人。
The Trump administration’s FCC justified the ban on foreign-made robots by referencing cybersecurity vulnerabilities previously discovered in robots specifically made by Chinese companies. On July 28, the federal agency added “foreign-produced advanced robotic devices” to its Covered List of technologies “deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the US or the safety and security of US persons.” 特朗普政府领导下的FCC为这项针对外国制造机器人的禁令辩护称，此前在特定中国公司制造的机器人中发现了网络安全漏洞。7月28日，该联邦机构将“外国生产的先进机器人设备”列入其“受管清单”（Covered List），称这些技术“被认为对美国国家安全或美国民众的安全构成不可接受的风险”。
However, the FCC cannot update the Covered List on its own initiative and is required by law to follow the direction of a “qualifying national security authority.” The agency describes the White House as having “convened an executive branch interagency body” that “included appropriate national security agencies,” which determined foreign-made robots as presenting a national security risk. 然而，FCC不能自行更新“受管清单”，法律要求其必须遵循“合格国家安全机构”的指示。该机构表示，白宫已“召集了一个行政部门跨机构小组”，其中包括“相关的国家安全机构”，该小组认定外国制造的机器人构成了国家安全风险。
So what foreign-made robots are prohibited? The ban defines “advanced robotic devices” as being “a mechanical mobile device, including autonomous mobile robots, humanoid robots, and quadrupeds” that can move around on the ground and operate either autonomously on their own or remotely under the control of a human. 那么，哪些外国制造的机器人被禁止了？该禁令将“先进机器人设备”定义为“一种机械移动设备，包括自主移动机器人、人形机器人和四足机器人”，它们能够在地面上移动，并能自主运行或在人类远程控制下运行。
The definition also describes covered robots as having sensors capable of perceiving the robot’s environment, network connectivity such as Bluetooth or satellite connections with speeds surpassing 200 kbps in either direction, and software or AI models running onboard the robot or remotely from cloud computing servers. 该定义还指出，受限机器人需具备感知环境的传感器、蓝牙或卫星连接等网络连接功能（双向速度超过200 kbps），以及在机器人本地或通过云端服务器远程运行的软件或人工智能模型。
Such an import ban would apply to some of the most affordable robots primarily produced by Chinese companies, including Unitree’s humanoid robots that are used by robotics labs and researchers for tasks such as experimental robot surgeries. US consumers would also likely lose access to the newest robot vacuum cleaners that are mainly manufactured by Chinese companies such as Roborock. 这种进口禁令将适用于一些主要由中国公司生产的、价格最亲民的机器人，包括宇树科技（Unitree）的人形机器人，这些机器人常被机器人实验室和研究人员用于实验性机器人手术等任务。美国消费者也可能无法再购买到主要由石头科技（Roborock）等中国公司制造的最新款扫地机器人。
But the ban also broadly applies to foreign-made robots produced by countries nominally allied to the United States, including Japan, South Korea, and Germany. 但该禁令也广泛适用于由美国名义上的盟友国家（包括日本、韩国和德国）生产的外国机器人。
Tallying the exemptions
豁免条款盘点
There are a number of exemptions. For example, the new ban defines covered robots as being any mobile device—potentially in combination with a docking station—weighing more than 4.4 pounds. That would permit US consumers to continue buying small robots, such as robotic toys, although most robot vacuums weigh more. 禁令中包含一些豁免条款。例如，新禁令将受限机器人定义为任何重量超过4.4磅（约2公斤）的移动设备（可能包含充电基座）。这意味着美国消费者仍可购买小型机器人，如机器人玩具，尽管大多数扫地机器人的重量超过此标准。
The FCC ban also only covers new models of foreign-made robots. That means US consumers and businesses can continue purchasing existing robot models previously authorized by the FCC and continue to use previously purchased robots, but are blocked from purchasing newer, unauthorized models that come out from this point onward. FCC的禁令仅涵盖外国制造机器人的新型号。这意味着美国消费者和企业可以继续购买此前已获FCC授权的现有机器人型号，并继续使用已购买的机器人，但不得购买此后推出的、未经授权的新型号。
The agency made clear that its foreign-made robot ban does not apply to trains, drones, underwater vehicles, and “connected vehicles” that drive on roads, such as robotaxis. The FCC already enacted an import ban on foreign-made drone models in December 2025. Similarly, it does not cover anything classified as devices by the Food and Drug Administration, including medical or surgical robots, external limb prostheses, and mobility assistive devices, such as wheelchairs. 该机构明确表示，其外国机器人禁令不适用于火车、无人机、水下航行器以及在道路上行驶的“联网车辆”（如自动驾驶出租车）。FCC已于2025年12月对外国制造的无人机型号实施了进口禁令。同样，该禁令也不涵盖被美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）归类为医疗设备的任何产品，包括医疗或手术机器人、假肢以及轮椅等行动辅助设备。
The FCC ban also specifically exempts fixed or stationary robots. That means US businesses can continue purchasing and using foreign-made industrial robot arms and other specialized, non-mobile robots. Notably, the US Department of Defense can determine that a foreign-made robot or class of such robots does not pose security risks—thereby exempting such robots from the FCC’s Covered List. The Department of Defense has been rebranded the Department of War under the Trump administration and is referenced as such in the FCC documents. FCC禁令还特别豁免了固定式或静止式机器人。这意味着美国企业可以继续购买和使用外国制造的工业机械臂及其他专业的非移动机器人。值得注意的是，美国国防部可以认定某种外国机器人或某类机器人不构成安全风险，从而将其从FCC的“受管清单”中豁免。在特朗普政府领导下，国防部已被更名为“战争部”，并在FCC文件中以此称呼。
Innovation boost or protectionist claptrap?
创新助推器还是保护主义废话？
The ban on foreign-made robots could theoretically encourage more US and foreign companies to set up manufacturing facilities in the United States. There are already multiple companies racing to scale up production of humanoid robots in US factories, including Agility Robotics, 1X Technologies, and Figure AI. Tesla has been attempting to shift production away from older electric vehicle models and toward its Optimus humanoid robot. 从理论上讲，针对外国机器人的禁令可能会鼓励更多美国和外国公司在美国建立制造工厂。目前已有多家公司竞相在美国工厂扩大人形机器人的生产规模，包括Agility Robotics、1X Technologies和Figure AI。特斯拉也一直在尝试将生产重心从旧款电动汽车转向其Optimus人形机器人。
Boston Dynamics has already been making its Atlas humanoid robot, along with its four-legged Spot robot and wheeled Stretch robot, at its main facility in Waltham, Massachusetts. The US robotics company is also planning to massively scale up manufacturing of the Atlas robot under South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company, which gained full ownership of Boston Dynamics in July 2026. 波士顿动力公司（Boston Dynamics）已经在其位于马萨诸塞州沃尔瑟姆的主要工厂生产Atlas人形机器人，以及四足机器人Spot和轮式机器人Stretch。这家美国机器人公司还计划在韩国现代汽车公司的支持下大规模扩大Atlas机器人的生产，现代汽车于2026年7月获得了波士顿动力的完全所有权。
“This is one of the strongest technology-security actions in modern US history,” wrote Evan Beard, CEO of Standard Bots, in a LinkedIn post. “The message is unambiguous: robotics is a technology America must lead and own—and foreign-subsidized robots will not be allowed to unfairly dominate US robotics as they did solar.” Standard Bots首席执行官Evan Beard在LinkedIn上写道：“这是美国现代史上最强有力的技术安全行动之一。其传达的信息非常明确：机器人技术是美国必须引领和拥有的领域，外国补贴的机器人绝不允许像太阳能产品那样不公平地主导美国机器人市场。”
Similar praise came from Rush Doshi, director of the Initiative on China Strategy at the Council on Foreign Relations, who, in a social media post, described the FCC decision as “one of the most significant actions taken so far in support of the US robotics ecosystem.” 外交关系协会中国战略倡议主任Rush Doshi也表达了类似的赞赏，他在社交媒体上称FCC的决定是“迄今为止为支持美国机器人产业生态系统所采取的最重要行动之一”。
However, several robotics researchers and analysts interviewed by The Robot Report expressed skepticism about any potential boost to US competitiveness in robotics. Some even warned that the ban could prove counterproductive for US robotics efforts to develop humanoid robots. “In the near term, the measure could slow US physical AI innovation by cutting startups and researchers off from future low-cost Chinese platforms before comp 然而，接受《机器人报告》（The Robot Report）采访的多位机器人研究人员和分析师对该禁令能否提升美国机器人产业竞争力表示怀疑。一些人甚至警告称，该禁令可能会对美国开发人形机器人的努力产生反作用。“短期内，这项措施可能会切断初创企业和研究人员获取未来低成本中国平台的机会，从而减缓美国物理人工智能（Physical AI）的创新进程……”