US moves to fix humanoid robot supply chain gaps as China dominance looms

Washington wants American humanoid robots. The problem is that America currently struggles to build the parts that go inside them.

The US government has moved to restrict imports of foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots. Meanwhile, domestic robotics executives warn that the country does not have a supply chain capable of producing critical components at scale.

The FCC draws a line

In July 2026, the Federal Communications Commission expanded its Covered List to include humanoid and quadruped robots. The change restricts new imports of those machines. It puts walking, two-legged and four-legged robots in a regulatory category the government reserves for equipment it views as a national security concern.

The stated rationale centers on two risks. The first is supply chain vulnerability, meaning reliance on a strategic rival for essential hardware. The second is cybersecurity: a connected robot moving around a warehouse, a hospital, or a home is also a sensor-packed device that could, in theory, be accessed remotely.

The initiative began under the Trump administration and was shaped by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. Its goal is to reduce dependence on foreign technology, with China as the primary target, and to encourage a homegrown supply chain for advanced robotics.

The parts problem

Jeff Cardenas, CEO of Texas-based humanoid developer Apptronik, has warned about shortages of critical components inside the US. In September 2026, he flagged significant sourcing challenges around actuators, the motor-and-gear assemblies that function as a robot’s muscles and joints.

Actuators matter enormously to the economics. Up to 60% of a humanoid robot’s bill of materials, the full list of parts and their costs, can come from actuators alone.

Then there is the matter of magnets. Actuators rely heavily on rare-earth magnets, and China controls approximately 90% of global rare-earth magnet processing.

The cost implications are steep. Estimates suggest that building a humanoid without Chinese components could roughly triple production costs. For models like Tesla’s Optimus, the bill of materials could rise from approximately $46,000 to $131,000.

China’s head start

Chinese firms have accounted for 80-97% of global humanoid shipments in recent periods. The US holds a leading position in artificial intelligence, the software brains that let robots perceive, plan, and adapt. China leads in manufacturing the essential hardware that gives those brains a body.

The Pentagon steps in

The Department of Defense is increasing investment in domestic manufacturing capacity for vital components, including rare earth materials. Military programs are also pushing for innovation in humanoid robotics specifically.

Still, the timelines are not in the industry’s favor. Rare-earth processing facilities and precision actuator plants are not built in a quarter. These efforts may not immediately close existing gaps in production capacity and technology.

What this means for the robotics market

For US robotics companies, the near-term picture is one of higher costs and potential delays. Firms that have quietly relied on Chinese suppliers for actuators, magnets, or subassemblies now face a strategic question: absorb the cost of switching, or risk ending up on the wrong side of future restrictions.

For investors, the more interesting opportunities may sit one layer down the stack. Federal support for domestic manufacturing is likely to create openings in rare-earth processing, magnet production, and component manufacturing.

Big platform players like Tesla, which is developing Optimus, have more resources to weather higher input costs. But even well-capitalized firms cannot easily conjure a domestic actuator supply chain that does not yet exist at scale.

What to watch next: whether the FCC’s Covered List expands further to include individual components rather than finished robots, how quickly Pentagon-backed rare-earth projects reach production, and whether US manufacturers like Apptronik announce new domestic supplier partnerships.