The U.S. House of Representatives on the 9th (local time) passed a bill banning the use of new Chinese DJI products, the world’s largest drone manufacturer.
According to Reuters and others, the bill prohibits DJI from operating future products under U.S. telecommunications infrastructure.
However, there were no restrictions on the use of DJI existing products that have already been produced and sold.
In US politics, it has been pointed out that DJI’s drones are a threat to national security.
Congress will make it clear that DJI’s drones will not be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States through these measures, said Representative Frank Perlon (Democratic, New Jersey) of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
However, the bill must pass the Senate in order to be legislated.
DJI, which currently manufactures more than half of all drones sold in the United States, criticized the bill, saying, “It limited the ability of drone users in the United States to purchase and use equipment suitable for their work by only considering where the country of origin is.”
Recently, the U.S. Congress has moved to tighten regulations on Chinese tech companies, including in April dealing with a bill that would have allowed China’s ByteDance to remove TikTok from its U.S. app store if it did not sell its subsidiary TikTok.
Among the agendas dealt with that day were a bill that would prevent the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from purchasing batteries produced by six Chinese companies, including CATL, and a bill that would disclose China’s highest-ranking assets and exclude the family from the U.S. financial system if China invades Taiwan.
The House of Representatives is also expected to vote this week on legislation to tighten subsidies for electric vehicles that use Chinese-made parts and raw materials.
The U.S. government has already excluded electric vehicles using Chinese battery parts from tax credits since January this year, but the bill to be voted on this time reportedly further strengthens related restrictions.
However, considering that less than two months are left before the next U.S. presidential election scheduled for November 5, it is unclear whether such China-related bills can be legislated within the year, Reuters pointed out.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
