euRobotics asks Brussels to challenge the US ban on foreign-made robots

euRobotics asks Brussels to challenge the US ban on foreign-made robots

1 October 2026: euRobotics, the association that represents the European robotics community, has sent an open letter to the European Commission about the US Federal Communications Commission's ban on new imports of foreign-made advanced robots. The letter calls the restriction "geographic discrimination" and asks the Commission to take it up with Washington.

The reasons behind the US measure

The euRobotics page gives three reasons for the US measure: national security concerns, the fear of cyber attacks, and a goal of reshoring parts of the supply chain because of over-reliance on foreign hardware. The ban was discussed by the euRobotics Board of Directors, and board member Carlos Vivas coordinated the association's response.

Direct and indirect effects on Europe

The association describes two kinds of impact. The direct effect is a higher barrier for European technology exports to the United States. The indirect effect is that Chinese robots blocked from the American market might be redirected to European markets.

The argument in the letter

The core of the complaint is how the ban decides which robots are affected. The letter says that European robotics manufacturers are increasingly encountering restrictions "based strictly on country-of-origin criteria, rather than objective, risk-based security and technical standards".

It goes on: "This geographic discrimination poses a direct threat to Europe's industrial competitiveness". The page paraphrases the letter as saying the restrictions are discriminatory and threaten European competitiveness, innovation and technological sovereignty.

What euRobotics wants

The request to the Commission is specific. The association asks that the issue be addressed within the ongoing EU-US dialogues on trade, technology and economic security, arguing that "Ensuring a level playing field for European high-tech industries is critical" to the EU's strategic interests.

The letter is available as a PDF, an Open Letter to the European Commission whose file name carries the date 2026-09. The association says its newsletter will return to the topic in its next edition.

Who euRobotics is

The association runs the European Robotics Forum, which it calls the most influential meeting of the robotics community in Europe, and European Robotics Week, a yearly week of public robotics activities across the continent. It also organises the European Robotics League, with local and major tournaments open to international participants, and a Topic Group Summit for members of its topic groups.

At the forum it gives three annual prizes: the TechTransfer Award, the Renaud Champion Entrepreneurship Award and the George Giralt PhD Award. It also gives a Sustainability Leadership Recognition in Robotics. The membership is organised through an online community platform, and the association runs a Diversity and Inclusion Initiative.

Update, 22 October 2026: The FCC's Public Notice DA 26-786, released on 28 July 2026, added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices to its Covered List. euRobotics' open letter of 23 September says the measure took effect immediately and reaches autonomous mobile robots, humanoids and quadruped platforms; it is signed by euRobotics president Francesco Ferro, with co-signing associations listed in an annex.

Sources

• euRobotics: FCC ban, euRobotics responds with open letter, 1 October 2026
• euRobotics: About (read 2026-10-17), 17 October 2026
• FCC: Public Notice DA 26-786 - 28 July 2026
• euRobotics: Open letter on the FCC ban - 23 September 2026