Chinese drone maker SZ DJI Technology Co is unfazed and said its products would remain on sale despite U.S. trade restriction, Reuters reported Sunday.
The U.S. has included the DJI to its trade list ban, along with several other Chinese companies as outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump's administration escalates frictions with China in his final weeks in office.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has added the Chinese company to its blacklist for having allegedly allowed widespread "human rights abuses" in China, including drones that helped the government with surveillance and persecution of Uyghur Muslims.
According to a DJI spokesperson, the company is "disappointed" in the decision made by the U.S. Commerce department. "Customers in America can continue to buy and use DJI products normally," TechCrunch quoted the spokesperson as saying, adding the company remains firm in developing the industry's most innovative products.
Tensions between China and the U.S. have deepened in the wake of the handling of the pandemic and a trade discord over tariffs and Beijing's enforcement of its national security legislation in Hong Kong.
It is not clear how long normal business might last. DJI will have to seek business alliances with other companies for components, and it's not certain U.S. retailers will continue to support the Chinese drones or other equipment.
DJI is in a better position compared to Huawei, which scrapped many of its plans after the U.S. prohibition, but it can't count on a bright future. The Chinese smartphone company faced a major setback after denying access to key U.S. technology, including Google's Android.
Normally, companies included in the U.S. Entity list are mandated to apply for licenses from the Commerce department that face rigid evaluation when seeking authorization to receive items from American suppliers. An Entity list branding doesn't restrict a company from selling products in the U.S.
One of the key factors to consider in DJI's position in the U.S. is the dynamics of relations with Beijing under the incoming Biden administration. The ban could have an even more immediate effect on many state and government agencies currently using DJI's products.
In January, the U.S. Department of the Interior disclosed it was grounding its fleet of around 800 Chinese-built drones and earlier stopped additional acquisitions of such devices.
