US withdraws proposed restrictions on Chinese drones

The United States Commerce Department has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have imposed new restrictions on Chinese-made drones. The decision concludes a months-long review process and comes ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Beijing in April, Defence Blog reports.

Documents published on the federal website show that Commerce formally sent the draft rule to the White House for review on October 8 before withdrawing the proposal. The rule, initially introduced in September, was part of an effort to address information and communication technology supply chain concerns related to Chinese drone manufacturers.

“This decision underscores President Trump’s desire to sustain the trade framework that he and President Xi approved this past October and ensure a cordial meeting between the two leaders during his April visit to Beijing,” said Ali Wyne, senior research adviser with the International Crisis Group. He added that the move “underlines that his affinity for Xi and his narrow, trade-centric view of strategic competition between the United States and China make Trump an iconoclast within the Beltway.”

The proposal had specifically targeted Chinese drone makers, including DJI and Autel, addressing national security risks identified by Commerce in its January 2025 request for public input. At the time, the department warned that threats from China and Russia “may offer our adversaries the ability to remotely access and manipulate these devices, exposing sensitive US data.”

The Commerce Department’s reversal follows a similar action by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last month, which barred imports of new drone models and critical components from foreign manufacturers, including DJI and Autel, on national security grounds. Earlier this week, the FCC announced exemptions for certain non-Chinese drones from those restrictions. Federal filings indicate that the FCC order prevents Chinese manufacturers from obtaining approvals required to market new drone systems in the United States, but does not restrict the import or use of existing models previously authorized.

Records show that Commerce officials held meetings with White House representatives through December 19 as part of the review process, including a session on December 11 with DJI representatives. During that meeting, DJI reportedly argued that blanket restrictions on Chinese-made drones would be “unnecessary, conceptually flawed, and would be extremely harmful to US stakeholders.”

A US government official said the withdrawal appears directly linked to efforts to prevent new confrontations with Beijing ahead of the Trump–Xi summit. The administration has also frozen other enforcement actions targeting Chinese technology sectors in recent weeks. In September, Commerce previewed potential new rules affecting medium- and heavy-duty truck imports from China, following restrictions finalized in January 2025 under former President Joe Biden that barred nearly all Chinese cars and trucks from the US market.

By Vafa Guliyeva