US Customs halts some drone imports from China

17/10/2024 5:55

        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 <span class="tr-strong">previously unreported letter seen by Reuters, DJI notified distributors that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is citing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act 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."
        
        
        
        <span class="tr-strong">The letter called the claims “unsubstantiated and categorically false, but the law gives them the authority to withhold goods without any tangible evidence”.</span>
        
        
        
        <span class="tr-strong">U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly raised concerns that DJI drones </span>
        <span class="tr-link tr-pnac tr-link-story-internal" id="x1">also pose data transmission, surveillance</span>
        <span class="tr-strong"> and national security risks, something the company rejects.</span>
        
        
        L<span class="tr-strong">ast month, </span><span class="tr-link tr-pnac tr-link-story-internal" id="x2">the U.S. House of Representatives voted to bar</span><span class="tr-strong"> new drones from DJI from operating in the U.S. The bill awaits U.S. Senate action.</span>
        
        
        <span class="tr-strong">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. </span>
        
        
        
        <span class="tr-strong">"We're looking at drones that have Chinese and Russian equipment, chips and software in them," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNBC.</span>
        
        
        
        <span class="tr-strong">U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond immediately to a request for comment.</span>
        
        
        
        <span class="tr-strong">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.</span>