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<\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p><em>The writer is the author of \u2018Chip War\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Shortly before Christmas the US Federal Communications Commission gave an unexpected gift to America\u2019s drone industry. By adding all foreign-made drones and key components to its \u201cCovered List\u201d of equipment that poses an unacceptable national security risk, the commission de facto banned China\u2019s DJI, the industry leader in drones. This opens the market to US drone companies. It may also mark a shift towards greater use of import restrictions in Washington\u2019s tech competition. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The FCC \u2014 previously best known for regulating obscenities on TV \u2014 is now taking centre stage in the tech war. It has authority to ban imports of any communications equipment that it believes facilitates espionage or threatens critical infrastructure. From internet routers to drones, as the range of communication equipment increases so does the FCC\u2019s authority. Congressional legislation has expanded its reach, arming it to take on technology challenges posed by China.<\/p>\n<p>The FCC\u2019s move comes as a counterpoint to President Donald Trump\u2019s broader d\u00e9tente with China as the US tries to reduce its rare earth vulnerabilities. Yet Trump himself has also outlined a strategy of \u201cdrone dominance\u201d, with the Pentagon planning to purchase 300,000 small attack drones by 2028.<\/p>\n<p>The Russia-Ukraine War has exposed a \u201cdrone gap\u201d in American defence production. Many US companies still rely on China for key components like batteries and motors. In 2024, China cut off battery sales to US drone companies, forcing makers like Skydio to ration battery sales. <\/p>\n<p>The problem that US drone companies face is scale. China\u2019s DJI is estimated to sell more than half the world\u2019s cheap, first-person view drones. Because of this, China is also the leader in producing many key drone components. This provides major advantages. Companies can only justify developing specialised chips and other hardware if they can amortise the cost over many units sold. China\u2019s market dominance has made it impossible for foreign companies to compete.<\/p>\n<p>During the first Trump administration, the US tried to address this by imposing a 25 per cent tariff on imported Chinese drones. DJI quickly <a href=\"https:\/\/viewpoints.dji.com\/blog\/navigating-u.s.-customs-demonstrating-djis-commitment-to-ethical-production-labor-practices\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\">pivoted its production base for US sales to Malaysia<\/a>. In 2024, Malaysia exported three times as many drones by value to the US as China did. <\/p>\n<p>The ease with which China\u2019s drone industry shifted production shows why globalised supply chains make tariffs a blunt and often ineffective tool. <\/p>\n<p>Drones weren\u2019t the only industry to relocate production. Now Trump\u2019s trade officials are pushing other Asian countries to limit the rerouting of Chinese goods.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Although the US has leaned more heavily on tariffs (under Trump) and export controls (under Trump and President Joe Biden), the drone ban is not the first time America has banned Chinese tech imports. The first Trump administration prohibited use of Huawei\u2019s telecom equipment, for example. The Biden administration banned the Chinese communication equipment and software used in connected cars, using the Commerce Department\u2019s Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services. <\/p>\n<p>Congress is now considering legislation to bolster the commerce department\u2019s powers. Senior Republican legislators recently <a href=\"https:\/\/chinaselectcommittee.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/2025.10.30-letter-to-commerce-icts-investigations.pdf\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\">called on <\/a>commerce secretary Howard Lutnick to use this authority against imports of Chinese equipment in sectors including lidar, data centres, robotics and the energy grid.<\/p>\n<p>The FCC\u2019s move against drones shows that the Trump administration has plenty of legal power should it choose to act. Beijing will not be pleased but its long history of forcing Chinese companies to buy local products will undermine any criticism it raises. This year, targeted import restrictions could look more attractive than blanket tariffs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/bfadfdbd-9925-498e-b2aa-d46813f66cee\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump\u2019s second term means for Washington,…\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":39767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}