The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Thursday (January 2) that it is considering new regulations to restrict or ban the use of Chinese-manufactured drones within the United States for national security reasons.
The Department of Commerce is soliciting public comments with a deadline of March 4. It stated that threats from the Chinese Communist Party and Russia “could enable adversaries to remotely access and control these devices, thereby exposing sensitive information in the United States.”
The American commercial drone market is primarily dominated by Chinese products.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo had previously mentioned the possibility of implementing similar restrictions to ban Chinese vehicles from entering the U.S., focusing on drones carrying Chinese and Russian equipment, chips, and software.
She told Reuters in November last year that she hoped to finalize restrictions on Chinese vehicles by January 20 of this year.
Last year, the U.S. government took a series of measures to combat Chinese drones.
President Joe Biden signed a law in December that could potentially prohibit DJI and Autel Robotics from continuing to sell drones in the United States.
DJI has faced various restrictions, including being banned from exporting products to the U.S. due to forced labor issues. The company denies these allegations.
In December 2020, the Department of Commerce placed DJI on a government export control list, accusing the company of participating in the suppression of Uyghur Muslims by the Chinese Communist Party and providing assistance to the Chinese military.
In September last year, the House of Representatives voted to ban DJI drones from operating in the United States.
U.S. lawmakers have expressed concerns multiple times about the data transmission, surveillance, and national security risks posed by DJI drones, which the company denies.
In October last year, DJI sued the U.S. Department of Defense for wrongly including it on a list of companies suspected of cooperating with the Beijing military, leading to financial losses for the company.
These legislative and administrative actions demonstrate the increasing U.S. focus on the security risks posed by Chinese drones.
In 2019, Congress banned the Pentagon from purchasing or using Chinese-made drones and parts.
On December 18, 2023, a group of 15 Republican lawmakers cited national security concerns and called on the Pentagon to prevent the export of American parts to DJI. They stated that recently dismantled DJI drones were found to contain U.S.-made parts.