AUVSI urges Congress to back GUARD Act over China robotics risk

AUVSI told House lawmakers on July 22 that China is using the same subsidy-driven strategy in robotics that once helped it dominate the U.S. drone market. The group said the GUARD Act would let Congress act now, before Chinese robots and control software become more deeply embedded in U.S. industry and infrastructure.

Why it matters: - AUVSI argues the U.S. can still block a repeat of China’s drone-market dominance before robotics becomes harder and costlier to unwind. - The group says robot systems can create both data-security and physical-security risks, not just privacy concerns. - The GUARD Act could shape how the U.S. screens foreign robotics products, control software, and related national security threats.

What happened: - AUVSI President and CEO Michael Robbins testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on July 22, 2026. - Robbins urged Congress to advance the Guarding the U.S. Against Adversarial Robotics Dominance, or GUARD, Act. - AUVSI said the People’s Republic of China is applying a market-capture strategy in robotics similar to the one that helped Chinese manufacturers overwhelm the U.S. drone market. - The testimony called the current moment a low-cost window for action that is closing fast.

The details: - Robbins said Chinese drone makers used state subsidies, IP theft and deliberate market dumping to push many American drone companies out of business or keep them small. - Robbins said a single subsidized Chinese drone maker accounted for 96% of uncrewed aircraft detected in U.S. airspace before meaningful restrictions arrived. - Chinese manufacturers shipped roughly 90% of the world’s humanoid robots in 2025. - China provided more than $20 billion in robotics subsidies in 2024-25 and maintains a roughly $137 billion national AI and robotics fund. - Robbins said a compromised robot can expose data and also move, map, surveil or physically disrupt operations in the real world. - AUVSI cited security research that found an undocumented backdoor in a Chinese quadruped platform and data from Chinese humanoid robots being transmitted to servers in China. - The testimony pointed to the Department of Defense’s recent designation of Unitree Robotics on its Section 1260H list of Chinese Military Companies. - AUVSI said China supplies only about 4% of U.S. industrial robotics imports, or roughly $30 million in 2024, so the bill’s near-term impact on U.S. industry would be limited. - The group said the GUARD Act targets finished adversary systems and control software, not components. - AUVSI also backed the bill’s protections for NATO allies and Major Non-NATO Allies. - The group linked to Robbins’ full written testimony and the full hearing in the source material, but no usable URLs were provided.

Between the lines: - AUVSI is pushing a narrow restriction strategy paired with industrial policy, signaling that security limits alone will not build long-term U.S. competitiveness. - The testimony frames robotics as the next arena in a broader U.S.-China technology contest, with supply-chain control and scale as the key battlegrounds. - The emphasis on low near-term import exposure suggests AUVSI wants lawmakers to act before Chinese robots become entrenched in critical sectors.

What's next: - AUVSI urged the subcommittee to advance the GUARD Act and Congress to pass it. - The group asked lawmakers to add the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to the review process in the bill. - AUVSI also wants allied protections extended to future robotics-related Covered List actions and wants adjacent autonomous mobile ground robots addressed. - The group called for parallel measures, including the National Commission on Robotics Act, the Magnets Value Chain Support Act and the Make More in America Act. - AUVSI said Congress should pair restrictions with investment in American robotics manufacturing, supply chains and workforce.

The bottom line: - AUVSI’s message to Congress is simple: stop adversarial robotics early, and invest at home before the U.S. repeats the drone industry’s mistakes.