By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -China-based DJI and Autel Robotics could be banned from selling new drones in the United States market under an annual military bill set to be voted on later this week by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The 1,800-page bill says a national security agency must determine within one year if drones from DJI or Autel Robotics pose unacceptable national security risks.
DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer that sells more than half of all U.S. commercial drones, said if no agency completes the study, it would be automatically added to the Federal Communications Commission’s “Covered List.”
DJI said that would mean the company “would be prevented from launching new products in the U.S. market through no fault of its own, but simply because no agency chose to take on the work of studying our products.”
DJI said Chinese drones are unfairly singled out for scrutiny, saying it has “proactively submitted its products to regular independent security audits and expanded the range of built-in user privacy controls in our consumer and enterprise drones.”
Autel Robotics could not immediately be reached for comment. Last year, a bipartisan group of 11 lawmakers asked the Biden administration to investigate and potentially sanction Autel, citing national security concerns.
In September, the U.S. House voted to bar new drones from DJI from operating in the U.S. The Commerce Department is considering whether to impose restrictions on Chinese drones that would effectively ban them in the U.S., similar to proposed Chinese vehicle restrictions.
In October, DJI sued the Defense Department for adding it to a list of companies allegedly working with Beijing’s military, saying the designation is wrong and has caused the company significant financial harm.
DJI told Reuters in October that Customs and Border Protection is stopping imports of some DJI drones from entering the United States, citing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. No forced labor is involved at any stage of its manufacturing, DJI said.
U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly raised concerns that DJI drones pose data transmission, surveillance and national security risks, which the company rejects.
