RoboStore, the main North American distributor of Chinese humanoid robots and quadruped robots, is pivoting to domestic manufacturing at a facility on Long Island, New York. This strategic shift follows a sweeping US government ban on foreign-made robots and power infrastructure components implemented by the Trump Administration, cutting off reliance on overseas hardware suppliers like Unitree Robotics.
The Regulatory Squeeze on Overseas Hardware
The landscape for advanced automation shifted dramatically when the US government moved to curb its reliance on foreign technology. According to reporting by CNN, the Trump Administration banned new humanoid and quadruped robot imports from foreign manufacturers, citing “unacceptable risks” to US national security. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asserted that internet-connected robots could create supply chain vulnerabilities, disrupt critical infrastructure, and present severe data privacy risks. Officials warned that these devices collect data that could potentially be leveraged for surveillance or remote commandeering by foreign actors.
This regulatory action mirrors previous containment strategies targeting foreign hardware, such as the FCC’s restrictions on foreign-made drones last December. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning criticized the restrictions during a press conference, stating that Beijing opposes the abuse of national security concepts to suppress Chinese companies and vowing to protect domestic interests. Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Commerce condemned the move as “unilateral bullying” and “market distortion,” demanding an immediate revocation of the ban.
From North American Distributor to Domestic Producer
Before the federal ban disrupted import channels, RoboStore served as the main North American distributor for hardware from Unitree Robotics. Academic powerhouses like Harvard and MIT, alongside enterprise giants such as Amazon and Nvidia, acquired affordable Chinese humanoid and quadruped robots through RoboStore for research and development purposes. Teddy Haggerty, founder and CEO of RoboStore, noted that the company has sold over 1,500 robots and deployed them to customers including Cisco, OpenAI, and over 150 universities.
Faced with a sudden cutoff of new imports, RoboStore is pivoting toward domestic production. The newly announced Long Island production facility represents a shift toward domestic assembly and engineering. By manufacturing robots locally, the company aims to bypass federal import restrictions while continuing to supply institutional and enterprise customers who depend on accessible robotic hardware.
Market Realities: While US competitors like Tesla and Figure AI have struggled to start mass manufacturing, Chinese companies accounted for 90% of worldwide shipments last year, according to data from Interact Analysis cited by CNN. Furthermore, patent analysis from LexisNexis reveals that six of the world’s top 10 humanoid startups ranked by patent strength are from China, with Chinese makers occupying the top five positions.
Engineering the Post-Ban Supply Chain
The transition from importing pre-assembled units to executing localized builds introduces significant engineering and logistical hurdles. As RoboStore establishes its New York operations, the company must decouple its hardware stack from foreign dependencies while maintaining the cost-to-performance ratios that originally made platforms like Unitree’s accessible to university labs.
Existing robots already in use are currently excluded from the federal ban. For RoboStore, building hardware on US soil is no longer just a business expansion—it is a mandatory adaptation to ensure survival in an increasingly fractured global technology market.
