DJI challenges US over import ban

Chinese drone maker DJI, the world's largest producer of civilian drones, confirmed to China Daily on Wednesday that it has filed a petition challenging the US Federal Communications Commission's decision to block imports of all of its new models and critical components.

The filing, submitted on Friday to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, challenges the FCC's order in December to place DJI on the so-called covered list, which restricts the sale and authorization of equipment deemed to pose risks to US national security.

In its petition, DJI argued that the FCC's decision was procedurally flawed and substantively defective, saying the regulator made the decision without providing any substantive evidence that its products threaten US national security.

"It carelessly restricts DJI's business in the US and summarily denies US customers access to its latest technology," the company said.

DJI maintains an over 70 percent market share of civilian drones worldwide. In the US, the company estimates its share across consumer, commercial and government drone segments ranges between 70 percent and 90 percent. More than 80 percent of over 1,800 state and local law enforcement agencies that use drones in the US rely on DJI equipment.

"DJI's move aims to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, as well as to protect US consumers and agricultural users who rely on DJI products but have been affected by the ban," it added.

The December order triggered an immediate reaction across US consumer and agricultural markets. Retailers reported a surge in demand, with some buyers stockpiling DJI drones ahead of potential supply disruptions. Prices for used DJI equipment on secondary marketplaces jumped as much as 200 percent.

Greg Reverdiau, co-founder of a drone operators' association in Arizona, told Wall Street Journal that users choose DJI products not because they are Chinese, but because they are "available, highly affordable and capable".

Beyond drones, DJI has expanded into imaging devices. As of the third quarter of 2025, its action camera line held a 66 percent global market share, surpassing US rival GoPro. In the panoramic camera segment, DJI said a newly launched product captured 43 percent of the global market within a year of release.

The FCC action is not the only legal challenge faced by Chinese companies in Washington. The US has added a number of Chinese companies to its blacklist due to so-called national security concerns without providing any solid evidence.

In December 2024, the US Department of Defense removed Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc China, a leading Chinese chip equipment manufacturer, and IDG Capital, a major investment firm that has businesses in both China and the US, from a blacklist, after the two companies filed a lawsuit.

Liu Ying, a senior researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, said, "US suppression of China will inevitably trigger comprehensive countermeasures from Chinese companies and industries, ranging from legal to trade rule-based responses."

The WTO's website shows that the number of cases where the US has been the defendant far exceeded that of nearly all European Union economies so far, and the US has lost in most of them, Liu said, adding: "Suppressing others cannot lead to its own success. US attempts at decoupling, breaking supply chains or 'de-risking' from other countries will ultimately backfire, leaving the US marginalized."

chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn