The Chinese manufacturer of civilian unmanned aerial vehicles DJI has long been the focus of attention of American regulators and legislators, and they are constantly trying to either ban the sale of products of this brand in the United States or ease the restrictions being introduced. The US House of Representatives this week approved a bill that would ban the further sale of DJI drones in the country.
Image source: DJI
American legislators have intensified their activities; the current week has already received the code name “Chinese” due to the high concentration of legislation related to China that will be considered during this period. Parliamentarians thereby hope to meet the approval of relevant bills by the US President before the November elections, which will slow down subsequent activity in this area until early January next year.
The lower house of the US Congress, as noted by the South China Morning Post, passed a bill tentatively titled the Countering CCP Drones Act, which implies a ban on the import of DJI drones at the level of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). At the same time, the operation of drones of this brand already purchased in the United States will not be prohibited. This bill still has to be read and approved by the upper house of the US Parliament before it is signed in one form or another by the US President.
DJI representatives told SCMP that the company is actively working with lawmakers to dispel myths and misconceptions about itself. A ban on the import of DJI drones into the United States, based solely on political bias against the country of origin, according to DJI representatives, will not only harm many sectors of the American economy, but also undermine Congress’ efforts to provide government support to these industries. Now DJI unmanned aerial vehicles are widely used by American companies and departments in the field of real estate construction, agriculture and transport. DJI was blacklisted by the US Department of Commerce back in 2020. Two years later, the US Department of Defense made a similar move. According to some reports, DJI had to spend $1.6 million on lobbying its interests in the United States last year alone. In total, this week the lower board of the American parliament will consider 28 bills related to China in one way or another.