House Pushes Import Controls to Counter China's Tech Strategy

The Trump administration announced a ban on new foreign-made humanoid robot imports to the U.S. on July 28. In May, the U.S. and China agreed to set up trade and investment boards to identify tariffs to be lifted and possible areas for Chinese investment in the U.S. The administration also highlighted an October 2025 one-year trade deal between President Trump and President Xi Jinping as a first step in managing bilateral trade.

Congress has been moving in parallel. The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the Connected Vehicle Security Act in July, which would prohibit the importation, manufacture, and sale of connected vehicles, software, and hardware linked to China. The GUARD Act (Guarding the U.S. Against Adversarial Robotics Dominance) was introduced by Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI-4) with bipartisan support and would require robots made by China and other foreign adversaries to be reviewed for national security threats and prohibit those found to be a threat from being imported. The House-passed National Defense Authorization Act includes a key GUARD Act provision requiring the Pentagon to begin determining whether Chinese robots should be banned nationwide.

What They're Saying

The three witnesses, Craig Singleton from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Oren Cass from American Compass, and Peter Harrell from Georgetown Law School's Institute of International Economic Law, presented overlapping but distinct concerns about Chinese market strategy.

Singleton, a Senior Director of the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, characterized Chinese vehicles as "Huawei with wheels" during his testimony. He testified that China is pursuing scale through connectivity, physical control, and market concentration in robotics and vehicle sectors. He also testified that the Chinese have begun incorporating humanoid and quadruped robots into its People's Liberation Army (PLA) planning, including for the invasion of Taiwan. Critically, Singleton testified that the U.S. has not yet made a national security risk assessment about the threat posed by sensors on Chinese vehicles.

Harrell is a Senior Fellow at Georgetown Law's Institute of International Economic Law. He testified that Chinese electric vehicle market share increased from low single digits to 20–25 percent of new sales in 18 to 24 months. He emphasized that the U.S. had to recreate much of the drone industrial ecosystem at great cost after China developed it, and warned that "if the United States does not act quickly on robots, it could face costs of tens of billions of dollars to replicate what China has already developed."

Harrell testified that permanent legislation is important because "it takes certain things off the table from potential negotiations" and "creates the certainty needed for domestic investment." He also detailed how Chinese sellers circumvent restrictions: illegally by creating products in China, shipping them to Vietnam, applying "made in Vietnam" labels, and sending them to the U.S.; and legally by shipping parts to Vietnam for assembly, which counts as a Vietnamese product under U.S. law. He testified there is a huge enforcement issue with illegal transshipment.

Cass, Founder and Chief Economist at American Compass, framed the issue as a fundamental misreading of how authoritarian markets operate. He testified that the original mistake in opening trade with China was the assumption that other countries operate by the same rules as the U.S. He argued that free trade with a communist, authoritarian, state-controlled market like China imports distortions into the U.S. market. Cass testified that the U.S. said it would export liberty to China, but China blocked that and instead exported its economic priorities to the U.S.

Harrell also addressed workforce implications. He testified that manufacturers nationally report more than 400,000 open positions, with industry researchers projecting up to 1.9 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2023. He pointed to semiconductor firms like Micron and TSMC partnering with community colleges and labor unions to define workforce training curriculum in conjunction with incentives to invest in fabrication plants. But he noted that the federal government contributes hundreds of billions to traditional higher education while providing minimal support for job preparation in manufacturing sectors like semiconductor fabrication.

Political Stakes

The administration's 2026 Trade Policy Agenda states that "President Trump's trade policy has been focused across his two administrations to address" China's market practices and that "the United States expects ongoing trade with China and will continue to engage to ensure that trade is based on reciprocity and balance." Nine Agreements on Reciprocal Trade were signed as of May 22. United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in April that President Trump "seeks stability and is not looking for a 'massive confrontation' or 'full-on conflict' with China."

Harrell testified that legislation on these issues should be permanent rather than relying on administrative actions, arguing that permanent legislation is important for negotiating purposes.

Singleton's testimony aligns with his May analysis characterizing the U.S.-China relationship as producing "transactions without trust, restraint without reconciliation, and stability without settlement."

Cass faces a complication: Fox News reported that American Compass "faces scrutiny over his think tank's corporate sponsors with Chinese market exposure," creating questions about the organization's credibility on China policy.

The Other Side

China criticized "threat narratives" and warned against "malicious competition" two days before the hearing, signaling Beijing's resistance to the framing.

The Atlantic Council warned that China already has "end-to-end dominance in rare earth magnets" and is seeking to replicate that vertical control across other sectors. China controls roughly 90 percent of global rare earth production and around 90 percent of permanent-magnet processing capacity, which is a critical component in robotics motors.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies published analysis on September 16, framing the hearing as a response to China's use of its domestic market as a geopolitical weapon.

What's Next

The hearing record shows no associated bills, meaning the committee is not advancing specific legislation from this hearing. However, the GUARD Act and Connected Vehicle Security Act remain in play. Chairman Moolenaar recently introduced legislation that would require the Treasury Department to review U.S. pharmaceutical licensing deals, joint ventures, and equity investments with Chinese companies, expanding the committee's focus beyond vehicles and robots.

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