Trump administration drafts ban on Chinese data center equipment, raising stakes for US tech supply chains

The Trump administration is moving to block Chinese-made data center equipment from entering the US, a decision that sits squarely at the intersection of national security anxiety and the insatiable demand for compute power driving both AI and crypto. The Federal Communications Commission announced import restrictions on July 28 targeting connected power inverters, humanoid robots, and quadruped robots manufactured in China. Power inverters are the unglamorous but essential hardware that connects energy sources to data center grids. What’s actually being banned The restrictions apply only to newly manufactured models, not equipment that’s already been authorized for import. So existing infrastructure stays put. The banned items fall into two buckets. First, advanced robotic devices, specifically humanoid and quadruped robots. Second, and more consequentially for the tech sector, connected power inverters used in data centers, renewable energy systems, and battery storage. The FCC’s rationale centers on what it describes as risks of remote foreign access, potential cyberattacks, and data theft. The concern is that Chinese-manufactured equipment embedded in critical US infrastructure...