By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it was exempting imports of four foreign-made drones from a sweeping import ban adopted in December.
The FCC decision followed a Pentagon determination that four drone models – SiFly Aviation Q12, Mobilicom SkyHopper Series, ScoutDI Scout 137 and Verge X1 – did not pose national security risks.
The FCC in January exempted imports of some new models of foreign-made drones and critical components through the end of 2026.
None of the four models approved are from Chinese companies.
The move represented an escalation in Washington’s battle to crack down on Chinese-made drones in recent years. Chinese dronemaker DJI sells more than half of all U.S. commercial drones.
Foreign drone companies not on the exempt list will not be able to obtain the necessary FCC approval to sell new models of drones or critical components in the U.S but can continue to sell existing versions and Americans can buy and use them.
Last month, DJI filed a suit challenging the FCC decision to bar imports of all of its new models and critical components.
The ban also includes products from Autel, another China-based dronemaker.
DJI, the world’s largest dronemaker, challenged the FCC decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, saying the agency “carelessly restricts DJI’s business in the U.S. and summarily denies U.S. customers access to its latest technology.”
FCC Chair Brendan Carr told Reuters last week the agency was “trying to strike a balance here of national security and mitigating those risks by making clear there’s an end date for these foreign drones, which is these models are done.”
Carr said at the same time the agency did not want to disrupt hobbyists and others. “We think the current approach strikes the right balance between national security and not needlessly disrupting consumer use,” he said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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