The U.S. Commerce Department stated on Friday that it has withdrawn proposed restrictions on Chinese drones over national security concerns.
Last month, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission blocked the import of new foreign-made drone models and key components, including those from China’s DJI and Autel, citing national security concerns.
This week, the FCC declared that certain non-Chinese drones would be exempt from these restrictions.
The Commerce Department announced plans to introduce the rules in September, restricting imports of Chinese drones to address information and communication technology supply chain concerns.
The proposal was forwarded to the White House for review on October 8 but was withdrawn on Thursday, according to a government website update on Friday.
Under the FCC’s restrictions, Chinese drone manufacturers were barred from obtaining approval to sell new drone models or critical components in the U.S. The rules, however, do not affect previously authorized drones or those already purchased.
DJI argued that broad restrictions on Chinese-made drones would be “unnecessary, conceptually flawed, and extremely harmful to U.S. stakeholders.”
The decision comes as Washington has paused certain actions targeting China ahead of a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in April.
In January 2025, the Commerce Department revealed it was seeking public input on potential rules aimed at protecting the drone supply chain, warning that threats from China and Russia could allow adversaries to remotely access and manipulate devices, thereby exposing sensitive U.S. data.
The department also stated that it was considering similar restrictions on critical components in imported drones, including onboard computers, communication and flight control systems, ground control stations, operating software, and data storage. Experts cautioned that limiting these key systems could have amounted to an effective ban on Chinese drones operating in the United States.
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