The US president justified this decision on national security grounds, according to a White House statement detailing the 100 percent tariffs.
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Drones with a takeoff weight exceeding 25 kilograms and equipped with so-called national security functions, such as thermal cameras and connection stations, will be subject to a 100 percent tariff. Smaller drones will be subject to a 25 percent tariff.
The statement says that the tariffs will encourage greater domestic production of drones and their components and reduce dependence on foreign supply chains.
Most of the new tariffs will take effect on September 3.
“These tariffs are really aimed at industrial and commercial drones, and to a lesser extent – smaller drones used by hobbyists,” said Clayton Swope, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Dual-use purpose
Last December, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – responsible for nationwide telecommunications regulation – stated that domestic drone production “would reduce the risk of direct drone attacks and operational disruptions, illegal surveillance, confidential data leaks, and other drone-related threats to the homeland.”
It added that drones “are essentially dual-use: they are both commercial platforms and potentially military or militarized sensors and weapons,” and that drones and their components manufactured abroad “could enable persistent surveillance, data leaks, and destructive operations over US territory.”
The war in Ukraine has shown how commercial and hobbyist drones can be adapted for attacks on the front line.
According to several studies, the Chinese company DJI, founded in 2006, has accounted for more than two-thirds of the global drone market in recent years. Moreover, it has been under Washington’s scrutiny for several years, with US officials accusing it of supplying products used to monitor ethnic minorities, especially Uyghurs, in China.
Since 2022, DJI has been included on the US list of Chinese companies associated with the country’s military, subjecting it to restrictions on access to US technologies.
In 2024, DJI contested its inclusion on the list, claiming it is not part of the military and is not controlled by it.
Last week, China announced restrictions on drone exports to the United States and added six companies to a blacklist in response to Washington’s trade sanctions over forced labor and national security concerns. This move came days after the US imposed new tariffs on China and 59 other countries.
At the end of July, the US government also added humanoid and quadruped robots to the blacklist of products and companies whose import into the United States is prohibited, stating that they pose a serious threat to national security.
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Chinese companies also dominate this sector.
