U.S. Commerce Secretary Hints at Further Restrictions on Chinese Robots, Calling Them the 'Next Arms Race'

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has signaled the possibility of additional restrictions on imports of Chinese robots, suggesting that robotics and automation equipment could become the next battleground in U.S.-China trade tensions, according to a report by the U.S. political news outlet Politico on June 23 (local time).

During a private roundtable meeting held the previous day, attended by executives from over a dozen companies including SpaceX, Boston Dynamics, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Siemens, Secretary Lutnick stated that the Department of Commerce is reviewing whether imports of Chinese robots that receive state subsidies pose a national security threat.

While Chinese robots are already subject to tariffs, Politico interpreted Lutnick's remarks as a signal that the administration may take further, more robust measures once the review is complete.

He reportedly said, "This is the arms race that is coming - robotic arms are coming. We don't want state-subsidized robots attacking the United States. We have to make sure they are made in the United States, and we are going to start the research right now."

Within the Trump administration, there is a growing recognition that the robotics industry is becoming the next frontier in the U.S.-China technological hegemony competition, following the focus on AI chips.

Last year, China's industrial robot exports surged by 48.7% compared to the previous year, surpassing imports and marking the country's first-ever transition to a net exporter.

In the humanoid robot sector, the Chinese company Unitree has shipped approximately 36 times more units than its U.S. competitors.

Consequently, there is growing concern within the U.S. government that state-subsidized Chinese robots could dominate the global market before U.S. manufacturers can establish competitiveness, fueling arguments that this poses a national security threat.

One attendee at the meeting remarked, "At the end of the day, having an American brain on a Chinese body is a very, very bad strategic plan."

The meeting discussed ways to reverse the decades-long trend of offshoring manufacturing and to rebuild the industrial base within the U.S., spanning from semiconductors to robotics.

The Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) under the U.S. Department of Defense is currently reviewing low-interest loan applications for U.S. robotics companies Foundation Robotics and Standard Bots.

Evan Beard, CEO of Standard Bots, who attended the meeting, said, "The government understands the urgency and is not just talking, but actually taking action. They are putting real money to work to make reshoring feasible."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.