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   DJI and other drone companies get a partial reprieve in the US  but the ban    
   on new models still stands   
      
   Date:   
   Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   The Department of Commerce has decided not to make the US's worrying "DJI    
   ban" even worse.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   As we reported recently , the so-called "DJI ban" recently implemented in the   
   US is actually a ban on all new foreign-made drones, which seems likely to   
   make buying drones harder and more expensive in the country.    
      
   But here's something to cheer up US-based drone users hunting for nuggets of   
   good news amidst the doom and gloom: the Department of Commerce has decided   
   not to make things even worse by restricting the import of all Chinese-made   
   drones into the country.    
      
   This proposed ban (which is separate to the FCC ban introduced on December 23   
   2025) would have restricted fresh stock of previously approved drone models   
   like the DJI Mavic 3 Pro , HoverAir X1 and Antigravity A1 from being imported   
   into the US for sale.   
      
   The future remains murky    
      
   According to Reuters , this move may come as a result of a partial thaw in   
   relations between the US and China ahead of a meeting between the countries'   
   respective presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in April 2026.    
      
   While this means it won't get immediately worse for anyone trying to buy a   
   Chinese-made drone in the US, the future is much murkier. The FCC's separate   
   ban covers any foreign-made drones that have yet to receive FCC approval,   
   which means future DJI, Autel, Antigravity and Zero Zero Robotics (the owner   
   of HoverAir) models are unlikely to be available in the States barring   
   intervention from the US government.    
      
   The FCC ban does include a provision for specific future models to be    
   approved and allowed in for sale, but this doesn't seem likely to happen in   
   the current climate, and the uncertainty surrounding the rules (not to    
   mention the tariff situation) may discourage companies like DJI from   
   participating in the US market at all.    
      
   With no US-based drone manufacturers currently offering genuine competition    
   to DJI, the outlook for consumers isn't particularly rosy, but they'll be    
   able to continue buying previously approved Chinese-made models  for now, at   
   least.    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/cameras/drones/dji-and-other-drone-companies-get-a-p   
   artial-reprieve-in-the-us-but-the-ban-on-new-models-still-stands   
      
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