According to Reuters, President Trump signed an executive order on the 18th that requires all U.S. government agencies to prioritize the use of Chinese products in their official drone holdings and to assess the security risks.
Trump’s executive order also stipulates that in addition to Chinese products, drones in official possession must also be evaluated for risks against drones made by companies in hostile countries such as Russia, Iran and North Korea.
In addition, the executive order also requires U.S. government agencies to take necessary actions to reduce security risks. In justified cases, the federal government may also intervene to require a total ban on the use of the target’s drones.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce added dozens of Chinese companies to the “Entity List,” which amounts to a virtual blacklist of embargoes. The world’s largest manufacturer of commercial drones, Shenzhen, China’s DJI, was among them.
In January of last year, the U.S. Department of the Interior also announced a ban on the use of Chinese-made drones by government agencies, except for emergency needs. The U.S. officially holds about 800 Chinese-made drones. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior also issued an order in October of the same year prohibiting the department from acquiring new Chinese-made drones.
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