The FCC has effectively barred new foreign-made connected power inverters and advanced mobile robots from the US market, citing supply-chain, surveillance, and cyberattack risks. Existing models remain legal, federal agencies remain free to use the (supposedly) dangerous equipment, and manufacturers can seek exemptions. A robot trade war that spreads quickly into AI, semiconductors, and industrial automation. Washington is acting before those products achieve the market position Chinese drones, solar panels and EVs already hold. China will not treat this as a narrow FCC equipment rule but as an attempt to block Chinese firms from a strategically important future industry.