FCC Covered List for robots explained: new foreign models blocked, four exemptions so far

The US has not banned foreign robots. It has done something narrower and, for a fast-moving product category, harsher: since July 28, 2026, a new foreign-produced advanced robotic device cannot obtain the Federal Communications Commission equipment authorization that every radio-connected product needs before it can be imported, marketed or sold in the US. Robots already certified keep selling. A maker that wants to launch a new model needs a Conditional Approval from the Department of War, and in the 80 days to Oct 16 the FCC published exactly four such approvals for robots.

That gap between "ban" and "chokepoint" decides who is hurt. This explainer sets out what the FCC actually published, what falls inside the rule, how the exemption works, and why humanoid makers are more exposed than robot-vacuum brands. Earlier MEKAWIRE coverage of each step is linked throughout, including the IDC impact model and the Korean industry response.

What the FCC published on July 28

The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau keeps the Covered List, the register of equipment found to pose an unacceptable risk to US national security under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019. In Public Notice DA 26-786 of July 28, the bureau added two categories at once: foreign-produced power inverters, and "foreign-produced advanced robotic devices, except advanced robotic devices which have been granted a Conditional Approval by DoW." It acted on a National Security Determination that a White House-convened interagency body sent the FCC on July 27.

The determination, quoted in the notice, argues that the networked capabilities of advanced robots create attack vectors that can manipulate both their data and their physical operation, and that the data robots collect could be used to surveil Americans or to commandeer the machines remotely. The FCC said it was required to list the equipment once it received that determination.

The legal mechanism is the FCC's existing equipment rules. Under section 2.903(a), covered equipment cannot receive an equipment authorization, and under section 2.911 every applicant must certify that its device is not covered. The notice states that the new entries are identified by place of production, not by company, so the rule reaches a Korean, Japanese or European brand that builds abroad just as it reaches a Chinese one.

Which robots are inside the rule

The definitions sit in an appendix to the determination. The Korea AI Robot Industry Association (KAR), summarising them in its Sept 16 notice, says a device is covered only if it meets all seven criteria, including mobility, remote or autonomous operation, a weight above 2 kg, environmental sensors, network connectivity and control software or AI. That sweeps in autonomous mobile robots, humanoids and quadrupeds. KAR adds that origin follows the US procurement test in 48 CFR 25.101(a), so a model built by a Korean company that misses the 65% US-content threshold is treated as foreign.

IDC's reading of the same documents, published on Oct 22, lists the exclusions: fixed industrial arms, vehicles, underwater robots, medical and mobility devices, and federal government purchases. IDC also says already-certified models can keep shipping and receive software and firmware updates through at least Jan 1, 2029, and that Conditional Approval applications are due by Jan 1, 2028. Robot vacuums and lawn mowers that meet the criteria are inside the rule.

The practical question is therefore not where a company is headquartered but where its next model is assembled and how much of its content is American.

How the exemption works, and who has one

Each approval follows the same template. The Department of War reviews a submission, sends the FCC a specific determination, and the bureau removes the named devices from the list. Every approval so far is conditional on "continuing compliance with the onshoring plan" in the application and on updated vetting of the products; a false statement or a missed onshoring step can return the device to the list. Approvals without an end date stay in force as long as those conditions hold.

The pattern in the table matters more than any single entry. The four holders are a Swedish outdoor-equipment group (Husqvarna), an Indian AMR maker (ANSCER Robotics), a US home-robot start-up (Matic Robots) and the parking-robot maker Volley Automation. No Chinese or Korean robot maker appears, and no humanoid does.

Who asks for relief, and what it reveals

The sharpest signal came from a buyer, not a seller. Intel filed a petition on Oct 16 asking the FCC for an expedited waiver to keep repairing and updating the foreign-made automated guided vehicles in its US chip fabs, saying no proven domestic alternative exists. In Korea, KAR and the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement set up an FCC response team in September that helps members judge whether a product is covered, calculate US content and prepare Conditional Approval files.