Oliver Haslam on December 20, 2020, 12:41 am

DJI Added To The United States Commerce Blacklist Because Of Its Ties To The Chinese Government

Drone maker DJI has been added to the United States Commerce Blacklist as a result of its ties to the Chinese government. As a result, no US-based company can do business with DJI.

As noted by The Verge, this move means that DJI will no longer be able to source parts from companies that are based in the United States.

This is exactly something that Chinese phone maker Huawei has struggled with since it was added to the same list earlier this year.

The ban was put in place through the same mechanism as the US government’s ongoing ban on Huawei products, and is primarily focused on blocking the export of US technology to the drone-maker. As such, the ban will make it difficult for US businesses to provide parts or components for DJI to use in its drones, which is likely to disrupt the company’s supply chain. It may also make it difficult for US stores to directly sell DJI products or transact with the company, particularly if China responds to the action with further restrictions.

DJI’s addition to the blacklist is because it “enabled wide-scale human rights abuses within China through abusive genetic collection and analysis or high-technology surveillance.”

It’s thought this is due to the DJI involvement in the monitoring of forced labor in Chinese work camps.