US President Donald Trump has ordered trade talks on robot imports. A Commerce Department investigation found that foreign-made robots and industrial machinery threaten national security. He signed the proclamation on Wednesday 28 October. It sets no tariffs for now.
The proclamation uses Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The law lets the president restrict imports on national security grounds. Commerce opened the investigation on 2 September 2025. It covers robots, industrial machinery, and their parts and components.
The products “are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States,” the proclamation says.
Talks first, tariffs later
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the US Trade Representative must negotiate agreements with any trading partners they choose. The proclamation names no country. The two must update the president within 180 days.
If talks fail, or a deal does not work, the president may act again. The options listed include tariffs, duties, quotas and fees, and a programme to encourage new investment in US production.
Why the White House says it matters
The proclamation says the US needs these machines to build aircraft, tanks, ships, weapons and munitions. All 16 US critical infrastructure sectors use them. It says components from “certain foreign entities” carry security and safety risks, including “significant cybersecurity vulnerabilities”. It does not name the entities.
“The United States relies on foreign imports for most types of robotics, industrial machinery, and their parts and components,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
The proclamation adds that US companies do not make enough of these products to meet national security needs.
Who buys foreign robots
The US installed almost 38,500 industrial robots in 2025, up 12%, the International Federation of Robotics said in September. That made it the world’s second-largest market, after China.
General Motors, Ford, Tesla, Boeing and Lockheed Martin all rely on such robots, Jeremy Hsu reported for Ars Technica. They often buy heavy robot arms from FANUC, ABB, Yaskawa and KUKA, headquartered in Japan, Switzerland and Germany. No US company makes comparable heavy-duty arms, Ars reported.
After the FCC robot ban
In July, the Federal Communications Commission moved to ban foreign-made robots. It covered new robot vacuums, robot dogs and humanoids. That rule exempted industrial robot arms and other fixed robots used in car plants and warehouses, Ars reported. China threatened retaliation over the ban.
The fact sheet lists earlier Section 232 actions on products from steel and copper to pharmaceuticals and polysilicon. They include a semiconductor tariff and drone tariffs that reached 100% in August, with Europe capped at 15%.