More from DJI ban: how the world’s biggest dronemaker is getting shoved out of the US
It sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud: A Chinese company wants to be audited by the US government, and it’s asking you for help!
But it’s true: Every new DJI product will be banned from import as soon as December, unless a gov agency positively confirms the dronemaker doesn’t pose a national security threat. “More than six months have passed, and that process still hasn’t begun as far as we can tell,” writes DJI.
Almost every single thing in Friday’s executive order is about uplifting the drone industry and cutting through red tape (at the potential expense of safety), not about cracking down on the China-based leading manufacturer of drones. But as I noted last week, Trump doesn’t need to lift a finger. The ban on future DJI products happens automatically unless he steps in.
[whitehouse.gov]
The Washington Post is reporting he’s expected to sign executive orders on drones next week, suggesting they could “end Chinese drone sales in the US.”
That might be true, but the main action WaPo describes is “the executive order could direct the U.S. intelligence community to accelerate reviews of whether Chinese drone makers DJI and Autel are national security risks” — which is exactly what DJI would like the US to do. DJI products will be automatically banned unless an agency finishes that review. If there’s a review, there’s a chance.
DJI said it wouldn’t, but it weirdly did anyhow. Now, the company won’t answer our questions about the launch at all. How did Adorama obtain a shipment of drones? Will DJI honor the preorders at B&H? Does any other retailer have a shipment? Will DJI honor its warranty on those sales?
“We are unable to provide any additional information at this time,” DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong tells The Verge. Adorama’s pages now say “temporarily unavailable”; B&H has “suspended backorders” for now.
