US Senate Will Not Ban Chinese DJI drones

The US Congress has passed a new defense bill worth $895 billion. However, a feared complete ban on Chinese drones did not materialize. Nevertheless, market leader DJI now has to prove its safety within a year.

Breather for DJI in the USA

The world’s largest drone manufacturer DJI can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being: The US Congress has passed the new defense law (National Defense Authorization Act; NDAA) with a volume of 895 billion dollars (853 billion euros). Many US users, including scientists and farmers, can now breathe a sigh of relief for the time being: the originally planned complete ban on Chinese drones has not been passed.

However, the company is still under considerable pressure. The new law requires DJI and other Chinese drone manufacturers to demonstrate within a year that their products do not pose a risk to U.S. national security. Like the news agency Reuters reported, failure of this proof could automatically lead to an import ban.

Critical regulatory gaps

This is because a key problem in this matter is the lack of designation of a responsible authority for security testing. DJI criticizes this regulation because it could theoretically lead to an automatic ban on sales – even if there are no safety defects and no authority is carrying out the inspection. The potential consequences for DJI are far-reaching.

All DJI products with radio or camera technology would be affected. Business relationships would also suffer, as subsidiaries, partners and licensees would also have to face restrictions. As far as existing devices are concerned, devices that have already been sold could continue to be used, but new imports would be prohibited.

Importance of the NDAA

The NDAA is one of the most important annual legislative processes in the United States. The legislative package includes, among other things:

• Drone regulation for foreign manufacturers
• Measures to strengthen military competitiveness against China and Russia
• Pay increases for US military personnel