Trump Administration Could End Sales of Chinese Drones

The Trump administration is reportedly planning several executive orders that could ultimately bar Chinese companies like DJI and Autel from selling their drones in the US.

The orders could be signed as soon as next week, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the news.

The Trump administration isn’t directly calling for a straight-up ban, but the US intelligence community would be directed by the orders to accelerate their pre-existing reviews of whether Chinese drone makers pose national security risks.

In addition, the orders would reportedly command the federal government to invest in the US domestic drone industry, while also updating federal regulations about where commercial drones can be legally flown. The US has its own domestic drone manufacturers, like the Silicon Valley-based Skydio, but their sales would likely be far eclipsed by DJI, according to expert estimates— though DJI does not release sales figures publicly.

Though photography aficionados using drones like the DJI Mini 4 Pro are unlikely to be pleased with the move, the potential executive order has picked up support from figures in the industry.

Lisa Ellman, co-founder and CEO of the Commercial Drone Alliance, told The Post that the new regulations could boost the US drone industry, adding that her organization has been lobbying “US leadership for a really long time.”

These recent reports are unconfirmed, but rumblings of a potential ban on Chinese drones have been brewing for quite some time.

The US Treasury added DJI and seven other companies to its Chinese Military-Industrial Complex list back in 2022, a list which indicates some level of national security concern and prohibits US-based companies from exporting technology to them. Since then, DJI has been locked in a legal battle with the US Defense Department over its inclusion in the list.

The government has restricted drone sales in the past, though not for civilian usage. The US military has been banned from using Chinese drones since 2018, as have police forces in Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee. DJI has had some close calls with US regulators before, narrowly missing inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December 2024.

About Will McCurdy

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I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.

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