President Trump signed Proclamation 11077, “Adjusting Imports of Robotics, Industrial Machinery, and Their Parts and Components Into the United States”, on 28 October 2026. It was filed for public inspection on 30 October and is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 2 November (FR Doc. 2026-22385).
The finding
Under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the Commerce Secretary found that robotics, industrial machinery and their components “are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security.” The proclamation gives these reasons:
- Robots and industrial machines support defence production (aircraft, tanks, ships, munitions) and are used across all 16 critical-infrastructure sectors. The proclamation cites about $7.1 trillion in manufactured-goods shipments and about $86 billion of equipment production in 2024.
- The United States “relies on foreign imports for most types of robotics and industrial machinery and for their components.”
- Equipment “from certain foreign entities pose[s] unique security and safety risks” because it processes and stores sensitive data. No country is named.
What it orders, and what it doesn’t
- The Commerce Secretary and the Trade Representative “shall jointly pursue or continue pursuing negotiations of agreements” with trading partners, and must update the President “within 180 days”.
- No tariff, quota or fee is imposed now. “Depending on the status or outcome of such negotiations, I 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 United States production.”
This follows the pattern of the recent wind-turbine proclamation (11074): a national-security finding first, negotiations next, and tariffs held in reserve.
