President Donald Trump signed an order directing trade negotiations over robotics, industrial machinery and their components, closing a Section 232 national-security investigation without imposing new tariffs, quotas or fees. He signed Proclamation 11077 on October 28, 2026. No new charge takes effect under it.
The order directs the Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to negotiate with trading partners. It covers imports of machinery, robotics, parts and components.
Importers face negotiations, not a new charge, under the order
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer must pursue new agreements or continue current talks with trading partners they consider appropriate. Commerce will monitor the covered imports while negotiations proceed.
The two officials must report progress to the president within 180 days of signing, then provide updates periodically. Businesses importing or using covered machinery should track developments, since possible later measures could include tariffs, duties, quotas or fees. The proclamation also allows the president to consider an investment program for U.S. production of robotics, industrial machinery, parts and components.
Mayer Brown, Thompson Hine and EY each advised businesses to watch for potential restrictions or other future measures. Those are possible outcomes, not measures imposed by this order.
Existing tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper remain unchanged. The proclamation does not alter those tariffs.
The administration links machinery imports to defense and industrial capacity
The president concurred with a Commerce finding that robotics, industrial machinery and related components were being imported in quantities and circumstances that threaten national security. The department submitted its report under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1862.
The proclamation connects these products to defense manufacturing, naming aircraft, tanks, ships, weapons and munitions. It also identifies autonomous robots, humanoid and quadruped robots, and autonomous ground vehicles as systems with potential military uses.
Those uses include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, casualty extraction, and mine detection and clearing. The defense industrial base also relies on robotics and machinery to increase production during wartime or armed conflict.
The administration’s case extends beyond defense contractors. The proclamation says industrial robots and machinery help produce goods and parts in all 16 critical infrastructure sectors. It names automotive, electrical and electronics manufacturing as heavy users, alongside metal and machinery, plastics and chemicals, and food and beverage production.
The order cites roughly $7.1 trillion in U.S. manufactured-goods shipments in 2024 and approximately $86 billion in domestic production of the covered equipment that year. It says the country produces less robotics and machinery than it consumes, despite recent investment, and underuses existing manufacturing capacity.
Imports of these products have grown over the past decade, the proclamation says, and are projected to keep rising. It also raises concerns about equipment from certain foreign entities, saying those systems can process and store sensitive data while operating within manufacturing and defense systems.
The proclamation describes those products as presenting security and safety risks. It also cites an unreleased Commerce report that warned manufacturers’ investment challenges would likely continue without intervention. The stated goal is to strengthen and modernize domestic production of the equipment and its components.
If an agreement is not reached within the statutory period, is not carried out or proves ineffective, 19 U.S.C. 1862(c)(3)(A) authorizes the president to take other action to adjust imports and address the national-security threat.
Commerce opened its review in 2025 and the order is set for a November issue
Commerce began its investigation on September 2, 2025, and solicited public comments through a notice published September 26, 2025. The signed proclamation is scheduled for the Federal Register issue dated Monday, November 2, 2026.
The order appears in Volume 91, Number 210, on pages 69199–69202, as FR Doc No. 2026-22385. The official text carries the caption “Proclamation 11077 of October 28, 2026.”
The same issue includes a separate memorandum dated October 28 on delegating authority under Section 8335 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. That memorandum is distinct from the robotics proclamation.
Manufacturers welcome equipment access as the administration weighs security
Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said manufacturers need specialized machinery to make products ranging from aircraft to medical devices. He welcomed the administration’s decision and argued that access to capital equipment supports factory investment, production and jobs.
“This is an important decision to help strengthen manufacturing in America.”
“To make more in America, manufacturers need access to specialized machinery and equipment to build everything from aircraft to medical devices”
“The NAM has consistently called for greater access to critical manufacturing inputs like capital equipment, enabling manufacturers to continue investing, expanding production and creating jobs here at home. Let's make it easier to make things in America. When manufacturing wins, America wins.”
The association proposed a “U.S. Manufacturing Investment Accelerator,” described as a temporary “speed pass” for importing critical inputs without additional tariff costs. Timmons said the group had advocated greater access to manufacturing equipment.
The order follows a Federal Communications Commission action in July 2026 adding foreign-produced advanced robotic devices to its “Covered List.” Power inverters were added as well.
The administration also used negotiations after its October 22, 2026, investigation into wind turbines and their components. Other recent actions include a July order involving commercial aircraft, jet engines and parts, and January semiconductor talks alongside a 25% tariff on a narrow range of chips.
The proclamation does not set a final tariff schedule. It directs Lutnick and Greer to report on negotiations within 180 days, with Commerce continuing to monitor imports.
