A bipartisan bill unveiled on June 3 by U.S. Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Jay Obernolte (R-CA) aims to end robot imports from adversarial nations found to potentially pose a threat to national security in America.
“Robots made by China are a threat to national security, critical infrastructure, and American workers,” said Rep. Moolenaar, chairman of the Select Committee on China. “They contain backdoors that can be hijacked for espionage, and our legislation will stop these threats now before China can embed them throughout America.”
The congressman sponsored the Guarding the U.S. Against Adversarial Robotics Dominance (GUARD) Act of 2026, H.R. 9129, with cosponsors Rep. Obernolte and U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA) to provide for certain humanoid and quadruped robotics communications equipment or services to be placed on the Covered List issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
“Fueled by generous state subsidies, Unitree and other Chinese robotics companies are cheating against American robot makers, flooding the market with artificially cheap products, possibly bankrupting our companies, and leaving us dependent on China,” Rep. Moolenaar added. “These firms are also closely connected with the Chinese military, and they use their revenue to develop weaponized robots. We must act today to ban malign foreign-made robots to protect the safety of Americans.”
H.R. 9129 would direct national security agencies to review adversary-produced humanoid and quadruped robots for national security risks. Any products determined to present unacceptable national security risks would be placed by the FCC on its Covered List to prohibit the machines in the United States.
Products that are not reviewed within one year would be automatically added to the Covered List, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
“As robotics become more deeply integrated into our economy, we must ensure that the communications equipment and services powering these systems are secure, trusted, and not subject to exploitation by foreign adversaries,” Rep. Obernolte said. “The GUARD Act is a common-sense step towards protecting our national security, supporting American robotics companies, and ensuring the United States leads in the next generation of trusted robotics technology.”
The bill has received endorsements from several entities, including the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, Agility Robotics, FDD Action, and the Bull Moose Project, among others.