Trump Directs Robotics Import Talks After Commerce Security Finding

President Donald J. Trump issued a proclamation on October 28, 2026, concurring with a Commerce Department finding that imports of robotics, industrial machinery, and their parts and components threaten to impair U.S. national security, and directing negotiations with trading partners to adjust those imports.

The proclamation records that, within the preceding 90 days, the Secretary of Commerce transmitted a report on his investigation into the effects of these imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the statute that authorizes the President to adjust imports of an article being imported in quantities or under circumstances that threaten to impair national security. The Secretary found and advised the President of his opinion that robotics, industrial machinery, and their components are entering the country in such quantities and under such circumstances. Trump concurred with that finding and determined it necessary and appropriate to enter into negotiations with trading partners to adjust the imports.

Under the proclamation’s operative terms, the Secretary and the U.S. Trade Representative must jointly pursue or continue negotiations of agreements with any foreign trading partner they deem appropriate. Depending on the status or outcome of those negotiations, Trump may consider alternative remedies in the future, including imposing or modifying tariffs, duties, quotas, and fees, and establishing a program to incentivize new investment in U.S. production of robotics and industrial machinery and their parts and components. The Secretary must also continue monitoring these imports, in consultation with any senior executive branch officials he deems appropriate, and inform the President of any circumstances that might indicate a need for further presidential action. Any provision of previous proclamations and executive orders inconsistent with the new proclamation is superseded.

The proclamation describes the statutory framework behind the action. Section 232 authorizes a plan of action, with adjustments over time, that may include negotiated agreements alongside tariffs, duties, quotas, and fees. The proclamation states that the President may also take other actions he deems necessary to adjust imports if an agreement is not entered into within 180 days of the proclamation’s date, is not being carried out, or is ineffective. It separately cites Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, which authorizes the President to carry the substance of statutes affecting import treatment into the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, including the removal, modification, continuance, or imposition of any rate of duty or other import restriction.

The Secretary’s National-Security Findings

According to the proclamation, the Secretary found that robotics and industrial machinery support the production of defense systems such as aircraft, tanks, ships, weapons, and munitions, as well as certain military and law enforcement activities. Advanced robots, including autonomous robots, humanoid and quadruped robots, and autonomous ground vehicles, provide combat support to the U.S. military by conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions and by handling dangerous tasks such as casualty extraction and mine detection and clearing, the Secretary found. The proclamation states that the defense industrial base’s ability to surge production, including during wartime or armed conflict, relies on industrial robotics and machinery.

The Secretary found that industrial robots and machines are used to create products and parts across all 16 U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, that industrial robots are heavily used in the automotive, electrical, and electronics industries, and that industrial machinery performs functions in the manufacture of construction equipment, electronics, medical devices, metal fabrication, motor vehicles, and aircraft. The proclamation states that robotics and industrial machinery supported approximately $7.1 trillion in shipments of manufactured goods in 2024 and the production of approximately $86 billion worth of equipment in 2024.

The Secretary found that the United States relies on foreign imports for most types of robotics and industrial machinery and their components, and that the value of those imports increased over the preceding decade and is projected to continue increasing. He also found that robotics and industrial machinery are integrated into many manufacturing and defense systems and routinely process and store sensitive data, and that these technologies, when sourced from foreign entities, can pose significant cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

On domestic capacity, the Secretary found that the country does not produce enough of this equipment to meet national security needs, produces less robotics and industrial equipment than it consumes, and underutilizes its manufacturing capacity despite a recent surge in investment in U.S. manufacturing facilities. In the Secretary’s opinion, as the proclamation records it, action is vital to strengthen, expand, and modernize the domestic manufacturing and industrial base for the sector.

The Underlying Section 232 Investigation

The Secretary of Commerce initiated the investigation on September 2, 2025, and the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security published a notice requesting public comments in the Federal Register on September 26, 2025, setting an October 17, 2025 deadline for written comments, data, and analyses.

The notice defined the investigation’s subject as robots and programmable, computer-controlled mechanical systems, spanning CNC machining centers, turning and milling machines, grinding and deburring equipment, and industrial stamping and pressing machines, along with automatic tool changers, jigs and fixtures, and machine tools for cutting, welding, and handling work pieces. Its scope also covered specialty metalworking equipment used to treat, form, or cut metal, including autoclaves and industrial ovens, metal finishing and treatment equipment, EDM machinery, and laser and water-cutting tools. Unmanned aircraft systems were excluded because they are covered by a separate Section 232 investigation.

In requesting comments, the bureau sought the public’s views on issues including the extent to which domestic production can meet U.S. demand, the concentration of U.S. imports among a small number of suppliers or foreign nations, the impact of foreign government subsidies and predatory trade practices, the potential for export restrictions by foreign nations, the feasibility of increasing domestic capacity to reduce import reliance, and whether additional measures, including tariffs or quotas, are necessary to protect national security.

Under the proclamation, the Secretary and the Trade Representative must update the President from time to time on the status or outcome of the negotiations, with one update due within 180 days of the proclamation’s date.