President Trump has signed a proclamation under Section 232. His administration is to negotiate with trading partners on imports of robots and machinery, no tariffs have been set yet.
US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on 28 October on imports of robotics, industrial machinery and their parts and components. It is based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Under it, the president can restrict imports if they threaten national security, and that is exactly the conclusion the administration has reached for robots and machinery.
The Commerce Department and the Trade Representative are now to negotiate with trading partners. The White House fact sheet names no tariff rates and no deadline, but the president can order further measures later. According to The Robot Report, autonomous robots, humanoids, quadrupeds and autonomous ground vehicles are explicitly covered. Brendan Schulman of Boston Dynamics expects about six months of negotiations there, after which further steps would be considered.
What this could mean for Europe
The EU and Germany are not mentioned specifically in the documents so far. The market research firm Interact Analysis nevertheless sees the move as a clear signal that tariffs or quotas affecting prices and competition could follow later. Major robot makers such as FANUC, Yaskawa and Teradyne Robotics have already announced investments in the USA.
For German and Swiss robot and machine builders with business in the USA, it therefore remains open for now what the negotiations will bring.