The trade disputes between the United States and China typically show up in our headlines because of smartphone cameras or component parts for them.
But you know how much we love drones, and it looks like the world’s largest maker of consumer drones, DJI, is coming under the same scrutiny companies like Huawei have faced.
The Department of Commerce in the United States is adding the company to its blacklist, banning firms in the US from exporting technology to DJI, due to the Shenzhen giant’s ties to the Chinese government. The reason cited for the listing centered on the PRC government’s use of DJI technology and products in surveillance. The Verge quotes this specific line in the filing to back that up, wherein Commerce argues that DJI, “enabled wide-scale human rights abuses within China through abusive genetic collection and analysis or high-technology surveillance.”
The DJI action joins a targeted move against the China-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation. Beyond that, the Department of the Interior and Department of Justice are grounding their drones until a review is conducted of any potential links they might have to China. The US Department of Defense issued certification for several US manufacturers including Parrot and Skydio as alternatives.
While many of these actions are occurring under the Trump administration, there is speculation as to whether the trade disputes will continue when his successor, US President-elect Joseph Biden, takes office on January 20, 2021.
If you have missed the drama surrounding Huawei, you can read up on that here.
What do you think of DJI facing an export ban in the United States? Have you kept up with the ongoing trade disputes between the US and China? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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1 Comment
Thought the US were intelligent, how wrong was i thinking that