Americans have been struggling to get their hands on the latest DJI tech after bans brought in under Republican President Trump, so many have been hoping that the Democrat's flipping both Senate and House in the midterm elections might mean things will change. Will the DJI ban change, or is the "national security" reasoning still valid?
We reported on a possible DJI ban back in 2021, back when Biden was President, and since then more or less everything we anticipated has come true.
Brendan Carr, appointed commissioner of the FCC under Trump during his first term in office, is an officially registered Republican. He is now the Chairman of the FCC, and the FCC is the body with most authority to cause problems for companies like DJI attempting to import products.
That is because they can – and eventually did – add DJI to something called the Covered List. This is a list of foreign companies that the FCC felt that government agencies should not buy products from, thereby essentially ending free trade of.
Around about the same time, some American companies were producing drones with inferior specifications and higher prices, and, inevitably, American consumers were largely choosing the Chinese option. The coincidence of the ban was not lost on many of the drone operators.
Since these changes took place under a Republican-installed, Republican-leaning FCC leader, you might hope that the chances for ordinary consumers and small businesses of getting access back to new DJI products now exists.
Things, though, are not that simple.
For one thing the laws against DJI are now in place, so there needs to be active change.
And change isn't fast – especially as all the committees that existed for quick law-making need to be re-made with new members, so fast-track bi-partisan committees have had the brakes slammed on.
That's another point. The regulations were often bipartisan. President Biden re-nominated Brendan Carr in 2023 rather than replace him. Anti-DJI sentiment (which is, essentially, anti-China sentiment) is also far from Republican-only. Frank Pallone, of the NJ 6th district, and the Democratic leader of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, was a strong advocate of what he saw as safeguarding US communications infrastructure.
Just before the midterms, in fact, things looked to be getting worse for DJI users, with the threat of retroactive action – drones that were already released being withdrawn rather than simply bans on new DJI products as before. The upshot is that tech my kid is allowed to use in the UK may be withdrawn from shelves in US stores.
DJI has spoken out against the deadline set by the FCC in the past, but it was allowed to pass. We at DCW have still seen no evidence to support any of the political claims of a national security risk – it seems clear, though, that the US government wants domestic companies like Skydio to succeed so the tech has local roots..
Now it seems likely that the 'Blue Wave' in the US will slow aggressive and very nationalistic plans to ban Chinese tech (especially where the economy and trade is threatened), but don't expect "tough on China" to go away.
For now, at least, it's still possible to buy most drones on the best camera drones guide in the USA, and we also maintain a guide of the best non-DJI drones for those wanting to see wider options.
