The United States is preparing to confront one of the more quietly consequential technology gaps of the past decade. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is signaling a serious push to counter Chinese dominance in robotics, with a roundtable, a formal government study, and a potential executive order all taking shape in 2026.
The urgency is not hard to understand once you look at the numbers. China had approximately 1.8 million industrial robots deployed in 2023, roughly four times the US figure. By mid-2026, China is projected to control nearly 80% of the global humanoid robot market.
What Lutnick is actually doing
Lutnick has been meeting with robotics industry CEOs, a sign that the Commerce Department is in active stakeholder mode rather than just issuing statements.
A concrete early step is a Department of Commerce roundtable scheduled for March 10, 2026, focused specifically on supply chain dynamics and the structural challenges facing US robotics manufacturers.
