US lawmakers target Chinese robotics and AI with new bans and data center restrictions
This week, Washington is targeting Chinese technology from two angles: legislators are advancing proposals to prevent the federal government from utilizing Chinese-produced humanoid robots and are demanding an end to the establishment of new AI data centers nationwide.
On Thursday, two U.S. senators announced their intention to introduce legislation that would prevent the federal government from purchasing or using humanoid robots produced by Chinese firms.
The legislation, called the American Security Robotics Act, is sponsored by Republican Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York.
It would ban federal agencies from buying or using unmanned ground vehicles from countries deemed adversaries, including China, and would eliminate federal funding associated with such robots.
The move comes as Chinese companies race against American firms like Tesla to roll out humanoid robots capable of doing everything from dangerous factory work to cleaning homes.
Both senators said in statements Thursday that the robots pose a serious national security risk, warning that the machines could collect data and send it back to China, or even be controlled remotely from abroad.
“Robots made by Communist China threaten Arkansans’ privacy and our national security,” Cotton said. Schumer added that Chinese companies are trying to “flood the U.S. market with their technology, which presents real security risks and threats to Americans’ privacy and American research and industry.”
In the House, Representative Elise Stefanik announced a companion bill to match the Senate version.
The legislation would allow the U.S. military and law enforcement to study Chinese robots for research purposes, but only under conditions that prevent those robots from sending or receiving data to or from China.
Lawmakers call for a data center construction freeze
At the same time, a group of progressive lawmakers announced on Wednesday a plan to halt construction of new AI data centers. They pointed to what they described as an unprecedented energy crisis.
Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are heading up the push, arguing that the rapid growth of AI infrastructure is hurting both the environment and American workers.
“Despite the extraordinary importance of this issue and its impact on every man, woman, and child in this country, AI has received far too little serious discussion here in our nation’s capital,” Sanders told reporters Wednesday.
Sanders pitches bill to pause data center growth until AI is regulated | Source: @SenSanders
Under the proposal, construction of new AI data centers would be halted immediately once the legislation passes. The bill would also ban exports of computing hardware, including AI chips, to countries lacking similar worker and environmental protections in place.
This would limit China’s access to vital infrastructure required to continue developing AI at home.
The strategy establishes a new regulatory hurdle that might seriously impede China’s technology scaling and global supply chain integration by linking exports to certain environmental and worker protections.
Congress sharpens focus on Chinese robotics threats
Both legislative efforts are playing out against a backdrop of growing scrutiny in Congress over Chinese technology threats.
On March 17, the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection held a hearing on national security risks tied to Chinese-linked robotics and AI systems, including DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics.
Industry leaders testified that robots manufactured in China might pose dangers far beyond ordinary cyberattacks.
Michael Robbins, CEO of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, informed lawmakers: “This coordinated national initiative seeks to undermine the U.S. robotics industrial base, resulting in a deep-seated technological and industrial dependency.”
On the trade front, U.S. robotics executives worry that the postponement of the Trump-Xi summit, which was delayed due to the conflict over Iran and rescheduled for May 14-15 in Beijing, could slow efforts to put stronger protections in place for the American industry.
According to a Cryptopolitan report, China accounted for more than 80% of all humanoid robots deployed worldwide last year, aided by government policies and its 15th Five-Year Plan, which lists embodied artificial intelligence as a national priority.
Industry leaders are pressing the administration for tariffs and direct federal support, warning of a repeat of what happened in the drone sector, where Chinese firms came to dominate the global market.
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