Ban call puts Chinese humanoid robots in U.S. policy fight
A July 22 Daily Signal opinion essay calls for Chinese humanoid robots to be excluded from U.S. markets by placing them on the Federal Communications Commission’s Covered List. The list is used for communications equipment and services considered unacceptable national-security risks. Its authors, Autumn Dorsey and Josh Revoir, characterize humanoid robots as mobile data-collection systems because their cameras, sensors, and onboard software can gather information about facilities, human behavior, and work processes. They argue that some data can be sent to developers to improve models and that Chinese suppliers pose added risks involving overseas data storage and obligations to party interests. The source presents this as a legal and political concern, rather than evidence of a specified U.S. deployment transmitting data to China.
Unitree is central to the market case. The article says its G1 can sell for as little as $13,500, compared with humanoids that often cost nearly $50,000. It attributes Chinese cost advantages and faster scaling partly to more than $20 billion in Chinese subsidies for domestic robotics. Daily Signal alleges that Unitree made 5,500 humanoids last year and aims to produce another 20,000 in 2026; the source contrasts this with roughly 1,000 Tesla Optimus units manufactured to date and says U.S. humanoids are largely still being tested.
The essay points to fiscal 2026 defense-law amendments sponsored by Representative John Moolenaar, as well as FCC measures involving Chinese routers and certain foreign drones, including DJI. However, it does not identify covered robot models or explain treatment of cloud services, software updates, spare parts, research units, or industrial deployments. It also argues that excluding Chinese suppliers would give Tesla, Fauna Robotics, and Boston Dynamics more time to develop, while acknowledging that removing Chinese options could increase costs for early U.S. buyers. The source reports advocacy, not a newly enacted ban or pending FCC humanoid action.