US Customs halts some drone imports from Chinese manufacturer DJI, company says

By Michael Martina and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. government is stopping imports of some DJI drones from entering the U.S., the Chinese drone maker told Reuters on Wednesday.

In a previously unreported letter seen by Reuters, DJI notified distributors that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is citing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in withholding some drones from being imported into the U.S.

DJI,which sells more than half of all drones in the U.S., said no forced labor is involved at any stage of its manufacturing process. It told Reuters it was providing Customs with documentation verifying its compliance with UFLPA.

DJI said in its letter the action appeared to be “part of a broader initiative by the Department of Homeland Security to scrutinize the origins of products, particularly in the case of Chinese made drones.”

The letter called the claims “unsubstantiated and categorically false, but the law gives them the authority to withhold goods without any tangible evidence”.

U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly raised concerns that DJI drones also pose data transmission, surveillance and national security risks, something the company rejects.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to bar new drones from DJI from operating in the U.S. The bill awaits U.S. Senate action.

Last month, the Commerce Department said it was seeking comments on whether to impose restrictions on Chinese drones that would effectively ban them in the U.S. — similar to proposed restrictions on Chinese vehicles.

“We’re looking at drones that have Chinese and Russian equipment, chips and software in them,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNBC.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

UFLPA, effective in June 2022, was designed to combat what the U.S. government calls forced labor abuses directed at Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in China’s Xinjiang region. It prohibits U.S. imports of goods produced wholly or in part in the Xinjiang or produced by certain entities.