DJI says US customs is blocking its drone imports

DJI tells The Verge that it currently cannot freely import all of its drones into the United States — and that its just-announced flagship consumer drone, the Air 3S, won’t currently be sold at retail as a result.

That’s not because the United States has suddenly banned DJI drones — rather, DJI believes the import restrictions are “part of a broader initiative by the Department of Homeland Security to scrutinize the origins of products, particularly in the case of Chinese-made drones,” according to DJI.

DJI recently sent a letter to distributors with one possible reason why DHS is stopping some of its drones: the company says US Customs and Border Protection is citing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) as justification for blocking the imports. In the letter, which has been floating around drone sites and Reddit for several days, DJI claims it doesn’t use any forced labor to manufacture drones.

Reuters reported on the letter earlier today; DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong confirmed the letter’s legitimacy to The Verge as well.

In a just-published official blog post, DJI is calling this all a “misunderstanding,” and writes that it’s currently sending documentation to US Customs to prove that it doesn’t manufacture anything in the Xinjiang region of China where Uyghurs have been forcibly detained, that it complies with US law and international standards, and that US retailers have audited its supply chain. DJI claims it manufacturers all its products in Shenzhen or Malaysia.

US Customs and Border Protection didn’t reply to a request for comment.

While the US House of Representatives did pass a bill that would effectively ban DJI drones from being imported into the US, that ban would also need to pass the Senate. Last we checked, the Senate had removed the DJI ban from its version of the must-pass 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (though it did get reintroduced as an amendment and could potentially still make it into the final bill).

DJI says the “customs-related issue” has “primarily impacted” the company’s enterprise and agricultural drones, but has also now “limited us from offering the Air 3S to US customers beyond DJI.com.”

“We are actively working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to resolve this issue and remain hopeful for a swift resolution,” writes DJI.

The US government has cracked down on DJI drones before, but not in a way that would keep stores from buying them, consumers from purchasing them, or individual pilots from flying them in the United States. Primarily, the US Department of Commerce’s “entity list” keeps US companies from exporting their technology to the Chinese company, and the US has sometimes restricted certain government entities from purchasing new DJI drones.

Even if DJI imports do get banned by Congress, the proposed law suggests existing owners could still use their drones — but the FCC could no longer authorize DJI gadgets with radios for use in the United States, which would effectively block all imports.