According to a report by Phoenix.com on the 26th, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation to include DJI on the Federal Communications Commission's and list to prohibit its operations in the U.S. communications infrastructure sector, which could stifle most of DJI's commercial business in the United States. And the bill has already received support from both the Democratic and Republican parties. This shows that even as the general election is approaching, it has become a bipartisan consensus to suppress China. In other words, even if Biden steps down and there is a change of political parties, this policy is likely to continue.
(The picture shows the DJI drone)
Over the years, the United States has pursued Chinese companies fiercely, and DJI has been suppressed by the U.S. government more than once. Therefore, in the face of this move by the US Congress, DJI did not sit idly by. According to reports, DJI has launched a strong lobbying campaign in the hope that DJI's American users will be able to convince the country's legislators. Let them believe that the operation of DJI drones is not harmful, but rather beneficial to the United States. However, DJI's lobbying has been further questioned by members of the US Congress, and one of the main sponsors of the bill, Republican Congressman Élise from New York, claims that DJI has posed an unacceptable national security risk to the United States and that they should have withdrawn from the United States a long time ago.
(Pictured is Republican Congressman Elise)
The drones produced by DJI are of high quality and low price, and have a market share of more than 70% in the world. Former DJI employees in the U.S. estimate that in 2022 DJI accounted for 58% of the U.S. commercial drone market. And DJI drones are also used by law enforcement agencies and even the military in the United States. Although the latest data has not yet been verified, a 2020 study by Bard College shows that DJI drones account for 90% of U.S. law enforcement agencies alone. From this point of view, even in the United States, DJI drones have a clear advantage.
(The picture shows the products in the list of blue drones in the United States)
DJI's current lobbying is supported by some grassroots users, who are generally concerned about the lack of competitiveness in cost and quality of alternative suppliers in the United States. In fact, this suspicion has existed for a long time, after the United States tried to crowd out Chinese drone manufacturers. A list of "blue drones" was created for procurement by the U.S. government departments. But some departments, including the US Department of the Interior, reacted that the products on the blue drone list are 8 to 14 times more expensive than Chinese drones. The use of these drones will lead to a significant decrease in the situational awareness of the US Department of the Interior. It's not just performance and price that don't work, some of the products on the blue drone list also rely on components made in China.
(Pictured is DJI)
This means that the United States still relies on Chinese manufacturing in the field of drones, but the price has increased after the Americans changed hands. In fact, not only in the United States, but also in other countries. Even in the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, DJI drones have been widely used, and even won the favor of both sides of the war. Previously, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the U.S. military had urged Ukraine to use U.S. drones instead of DJI drones. But compared with expensive American-made drones, the Ukrainian side obviously favors DJI. Not only is it expensive, but the Ukrainian side also complained that American-made drones have many failures and are difficult to maintain, which makes their application on the battlefield quite inconvenient.
(The picture shows a group photo of the Ukrainian army and DJI drones)
Practice is the only criterion for testing the truth, since Ukraine in actual combat is more inclined to DJI. It shows that DJI's drones are indeed unique and difficult to replace. But the U.S. is now back to isolationism and wants to relocate many industries to the U.S., which is clearly going against the trend. In fact, not only Ukraine, but even the Russian army and even the US military are quite fond of DJI drones. Perhaps if the United States has an advantage over DJI in terms of performance and price, the U.S. government departments and foreign allies will not be able to stand it first. However, in the face of the current unreasonable suppression by the US government, DJI should still take more measures to protect its rights.