What it takes to put a robot on the US market
Four separate gates decide whether imported robots can be sold in the United States. Each is governed by documents with numbers — rulings, registers, standards catalogues. This section tracks them, and states plainly which of our statements come from the original text and which do not.
| Gate | What it governs | Covered |
|---|---|---|
| Classification & tariffs | Which HTSUS code the equipment takes; how Section 301 and 232 stack on top; component-level filing | Published |
| Safety standards | R15.08 parts 1–3, ISO 3691-4, ANSI/CAN/UL 3100, functional safety, industrial cyber-security | Summarised · dedicated page planned |
| Radio and laser | FCC Part 15 for radio modules; 21 CFR 1040.10 for lidar | In summary · dedicated page planned |
| Market-access restrictions | Equipment-authorisation restrictions on foreign-produced robotics, and what they mean for new models versus installed units | In progress |
Why this section is graded so carefully
Compliance is the one area where a wrong number has consequences you cannot talk your way out of — a misclassified shipment stops at the port. So we do something most sites covering this topic don't: where our copy came from a secondary source rather than the original, we say so on the page.
On our classification page you will find a ruling cited as B rather than A, with an explicit instruction to pull the original from CBP CROSS before filing. That is not hedging. The ruling numbers are reliable; the reasoning in our copy is one step removed, and a broker will ask for the source.
Pages in this section
What's coming
- Safety standards, clause by clause — what R15.08-1/-2/-3 each demand, and who carries the duty. Publication of R15.08-3 in April 2026 put a new obligation on the buyer's side of the table, which is already showing up in tender documents.
- Radio and laser clearance — what a lidar-equipped AMR needs before it clears customs, and why the lead time is longer than most teams plan for.
- Restricted-equipment tracking — model-level authorisation restrictions on foreign-produced robotics, and the distinction between new models and units already in the field.
Do not treat these pages as legal advice and do not copy the codes into a contract without checking the primary record. Use them for the thing they are actually good at: knowing which documents exist, what number they carry, and which questions to put to your broker — before the shipment is on the water.