Seven years after founding a robotics startup in San Francisco, Rajat Bhageria is facing a challenging new task: manufacturing robots without any reliance on China.
According to a report by CNN on October 3rd, like most American robotics companies, Chef Robotics relies heavily on Chinese components for manufacturing the robotic arms it sells to food manufacturers, in order to automate the assembly of prepared meals. China is able to produce cheap components on an unparalleled scale, making it an indispensable source of supply for competitive technology products worldwide.
However, as China begins to dominate advanced industries such as electric vehicles and automated factories, the United States, under President Trump, is increasingly implementing protectionist measures to restrict the use of Chinese technology domestically. This includes technologies related to drones, mobile robots, and other critical electronic products.
Bagriya said, "Of course, for a while, our idea was, 'Hey, let's find the best parts and get them at the lowest price.'"
Now, investors and customers are starting to ask him another question: "Why do you still use components made abroad?"
Reports indicate that the intensifying competition between China and the United States makes people more concerned about the potential national security risks associated with excessive reliance on Chinese systems and supply chains.
American officials justify banning foreign-made technical products by stating the need to protect sensitive consumer and government data, while also encouraging domestic manufacturing. However, experts warn that these restrictive measures could have an unexpected consequence: they could hinder American companies from catching up with Chinese competitors.
For decades, outsourcing production has left American manufacturers lacking the ability to meet market demands. As a result, companies, universities, and consumers who need advanced electronic devices and everyday electronics are faced with higher costs and longer waiting times.
"Our digital life is largely built on the infrastructure of foreign manufacturing components and assembled products, a situation that will not change in the short term," said Ben Armstrong, director of the Center for Industrial Performance at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He said, “We have no idea how to manufacture these things in the United States. Therefore, it will inevitably be a learning process, and during this learning process, the costs will be very high.”
Bagriya hopes that by starting the search for alternative suppliers now, the company can alleviate the potential economic pressures it may face in the future.
He still has such room for maneuver, as the components used in his robotic arm have not been affected by the ban. But he fears that the list of prohibited items will continue to expand. “You can imagine what will come next, right? For example, the next item might be a fixed-type robotic arm.”
Bagria stated that the final assembly of the product is completed in the United States. However, all the mechanical components installed at the end of the robotic arm are manufactured in China.
Last year, as Trump increased tariffs on Chinese imports, Bagriya initially hoped to shift this production overseas. However, he soon realized that the cost of manufacturing these plastic grippers in the United States was prohibitively high, and many suppliers outside China were simply unable to fulfill his orders.
He said, “In fact, this process is much more difficult than we originally expected. We even found some very good mechanical processing factories in the United States, but they said, ‘We can’t do this.’”
These difficulties highlight how important the development of China's industry has become for American companies. However, the U.S. government continues to restrict the use of Chinese technology, and the list of products prohibited from use is constantly expanding.
In July of this year, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) listed power inverters and new advanced robots—such as humanoid robots capable of running, jumping, dancing, and fighting—on a list of restricted foreign-made technologies. The United States also prohibits the use of Chinese software in automobiles and imposes a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. After banning new types of drones in December last year, similar tariffs for drones also took effect last month.
The ever-expanding list of restrictions even makes it difficult for American corporate giants like Ford to cope. Earlier this month, this large American automobile manufacturer was criticized by the Trump administration for allegedly having improper connections with Chinese technology. Specifically, it was alleged that the company used electric vehicle batteries produced by China's CATL.
Ford denied claims that it was giving up American manufacturing to Chinese firms.
Kopin company CEO Michael Murray stated that the company took over two and a half years to move some miniature display screen production from China to the United States.
He estimates that the cost of manufacturing these components in the United States will increase by up to 25%. However, funds provided by the U.S. Department of Defense offset part of the costs associated with shifting the supply chain.
He said, “Our production scale is not yet large enough to significantly reduce costs compared to other companies in the market. Therefore, we must bear the price pressure in this regard.”
Murray said that as regulations against sensitive technology sources become stricter, more and more companies are looking for components manufactured in the United States. However, he added that China produces more micro-displays in a week than the United States does in a year.
Gavin Kenneally's company produces industrial and military robotic dogs. He is currently looking for new sources of rare earths, and China holds a near-monopoly on rare earths in the world.
Ghost Robotics has moved the production of motors from China to South Korea. Currently, they are purchasing neodymium magnets from a European company. However, the raw materials for these magnets come from China, which means that starting from January next year, these magnets will be subject to restrictions by the U.S. government.
Kenny said, “This is a difficult supply chain issue that will be hard to solve in the short term.” He added that such policies usually release signals in advance to give companies time to adjust. “Looking long-term, I believe these bans have indeed produced the stimulus effect that the government hoped for.”
Analysts and corporate executives say that if access to China’s vast supply chain is limited, while American suppliers are trying to catch up, it could hinder America’s development in cutting-edge industries such as artificial intelligence and robotics, as well as in traditional manufacturing sectors.
Industry alliance “Robots for America” and Saman Farid, the founder of Formic Company, which supplies industrial robots to American factories, said, “In the time it takes for an American company to develop the first prototype, a Chinese company may already have reached the third iteration.”
Although Farid’s customers have not been affected yet, he is worried that the restrictions will expand further, and that manufacturers will be forced to abandon the use of the most competitive equipment and technologies.
He said: "If alternative products cannot appear quickly enough, then this could become a real obstacle to American enterprise development."
If it is not possible to obtain cheap humanoid robots produced on a large scale in China, American universities and research laboratories may also have to switch to older or more expensive models.
Illinois University Urbana-Champaign engineering professor Sayan Mitra said that several courses at the university use robotic arms, drones, humanoid robots, and vehicles from China. He mentioned that if American-made humanoid robots were used instead of Chinese products, the cost could be as much as ten times higher; moreover, some drones may not have any alternative products available at all.
Mithra said, "It’s like trying to operate on a patient who is already moving around. If we do this in a very sudden and unpredictable manner, everything will slow down. In fact, the goals we hope to achieve—such as training skilled robot researchers and establishing domestic supply chains—could be completely derailed, because we will block the process of obtaining robots and using them for experiments."
Even everyday household items have come under the scrutiny of the U.S. government. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s ban on mobile robots includes new models of automated devices such as floor cleaning robots, pool cleaning robots, and lawn mowers. Most of these devices are also manufactured in China.
Technology market research firm IDC's Director of Consumer Device Research, Jitesh Ubrani, said, "Transferring manufacturing to the United States is extremely difficult. In the long term, it is possible to do so. But the costs could be very high, and as a result, American consumers will have to pay much higher prices."
In fact, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly emphasized that China always firmly opposes the US tendency to generalize the concept of national security and to suppress Chinese enterprises. Protectionism does not enhance America's competitiveness; instead, it harms the interests of American businesses and consumers. China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
