US Senate He passed The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense spending bill, could have serious consequences for the world’s largest drone company — though not necessarily the immediate ban that Chinese company DJI feared.
Although it did not include the full “Chinese Communist Party’s Anti-Drone Law” provisions that would have quickly blocked imports of DJI products into the United States, it instead begins a one-year countdown until its products (and those of At competing drone manufacturer Autel Robotics) automatically Forbidden.
If DJI cannot persuade the “appropriate National Security Agency” to publicly declare that its products “do not pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States,” the law directs the FCC to add DJI equipment to its “covered list” under the Act. Secure and Reliable Communications Networks Not only does this list prevent this device from operating on US networks, it also prevents the FCC from licensing its internal radios for use in the US, effectively blocking all imports.
While none of this would prevent US citizens from continuing to use existing DJI gear, it would not only ban new DJI drones from being imported into the US. Every DJI product is equipped with a radio or camera, e.g edge The favorite DJI Osmo Pocket 3 will be technically banned. (The National Defense Authorization Act specifies not only drones but communications and video surveillance equipment.)
the Text of the draft law (PDF, see pages 1084-1088) It should theoretically prevent DJI from exploiting the white-labeling loophole on its drones under other brand names or licensing its technology as well, This also seems to be the case with the Anzu Robotics Raptor and Cogito Specta. The bill explicitly requires the FCC to add “any subsidiary, affiliate, or partner” and “any entity for which said entity has a technology sharing or licensing agreement” to the covered list as well.
The bill has already passed the House and is headed to President Biden’s desk, where it is considered a must-sign: it would trigger a partial government shutdown if not signed, and it has already passed both chambers of Congress with strong bipartisan support.
So, it will be up to the Trump administration whether it wants to bail out the Chinese drone company the year after he takes office. Trump may not need to lift a finger if he’d prefer to see fewer DJI products in the country, so the ball is in DJI’s court. It wouldn’t be surprising if DJI tried to meet Trump in the near future — like TikTok, which faces an imminent ban.
In a blog postDJI calls it “good news” that the National Defense Authorization Act does not explicitly ban DJI products, but says the U.S. government is singling out Chinese drones for scrutiny, and is concerned about the fact that the law does not specify a government agency to actually do beyond the task of determining whether It poses a danger.
“This means that DJI will be prohibited from launching new products in the US market through no fault of its own, but simply because no agency has chosen to do the work of studying our products,” the company wrote. It asks Congress to select a “technically focused agency to ensure the assessment is evidence-based” and give the company the opportunity to respond.
