- News report claims White House executive order banning Chinese drone sales is imminent
- DJI claims its products are fully secure and that it welcomes scrutiny
- DJI has already postponed the launch of the Mavic 4 Pro in the US
According to reports in the US, the Trump administration may be about to issue a total ban on US sales of Chinese-made drones. While that might sound like disastrous news for the likes of DJI, it may in fact provide it with an excellent opportunity to finally clear up any lingering doubts over security risks.
The Washington Post claims that, as early as this week, the White House will issue multiple executive orders that could lead to companies like DJI being effectively barred from selling any new models in the US.
Assuming the reports are true (and bearing in mind that Trump has U-turned on some proposed tariff and trade policies) this would be the latest development in an ongoing cold war between the US government and Chinese drone companies.
It’s one that precedes the current administration, too. In December of last year, one of Joe Biden’s last actions as president was to sign the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, Section 1709 of which mandates that “within one year of enactment, a designated national security agency must evaluate whether communications and video surveillance equipment from [Chinese drone] manufacturers pose ‘an unacceptable risk’ to U.S. national security or the safety of American citizens.”
US politicians have often made sweeping, somewhat vague statements suggesting that data collected by Chinese-made drones could be used for purposes counter to American security or commercial interests. And the aforementioned act tasks the US’s security apparatus to definitively find out if this is the case.
“We welcome this scrutiny.”
Thus far, the Trump administration has yet to assign any of the five national security agencies to take up this task. DJI, however, seems keen for the process to begin as soon as possible. Back in March, DJI Head of Global Policy Adam Welsh wrote an open letter to the agency heads requesting that “any or all of your agencies” begins the evaluation right away.
“We welcome this scrutiny,” Welsh wrote. The letter went on: “DJI is confident that its products can withstand your strictest scrutiny. We are confident not only because we have nothing to hide, but because independent firms and other U.S. government agencies have repeatedly validated and confirmed that DJI’s products are secure.”
Welsh outlined that the company had implemented a number of measures to ensure that its drones keep user data secure. For instance, flight logs, photos and videos are not synced with DJI servers unless a user chooses to do so, and US-based users cannot sync flight records with DJI servers at all.
DJI drones also feature Local Data Mode, which cuts any connection between the flight app and the internet, while the app allows users to manage their data, use third-party software and easily delete information on the drone.
Welsh goes on to point out the financial knock-on effect that restricting the sale of DJI drones could have on the US economy, claiming that DJI enables more than $116 billion in economic activity across the country, while supporting almost half a million jobs.
If the Trump administration were to implement a blanket ban, it could be as a means of boosting the domestic US drone industry which, at present, appears to represent a tiny share of US drone sales compared to the likes of DJI and Autel. While it’s clear the US drone industry could use some help, would US residents really be happy to be forced into buying far pricier drone hardware, just because it wasn’t made in China?
DJI, like many non-US companies, is already experiencing trouble due to the Trump administration’s blanket tariffs – or, more accurately, the confusion surrounding if they’re actually going to be introduced or not. Citing this uncertainty, the company has postponed the launch of its excellent new flagship camera drone, the DJI Mavic 4 Pro, in the US.
Let us know what you think of the rumored drone ban in the comments below.
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