2024-10-21 10:09:00
Chinese consumer and commercial drone maker DJI announced on Saturday October 19 that it will sue the US Department of Defense, accusing Washington of placing it on the list “wrong” on the blacklist of Chinese military companies in 2022, which it says will cause it to lose numerous tenders.
In recent years, DJI has been in Washington’s sights, particularly for its role in monitoring ethnic minorities in China and its alleged ties to Chinese power. In a press release sent to AFP, DJI says it is not “neither owned nor controlled by the Chinese military”and after trying to do so “dialogue with the Department of Defense for more than sixteen months” before realizing “that he had no choice but to seek relief in federal court”.
Some drone models blocked at customs
The Justice Department is not the only public actor to threaten the Chinese drone maker‘s sales in the United States. According to the American media The limitCustoms is already blocking the import of some of its professional drones and, for several days, its latest high-end consumer quadcopter, the Air 3S. In a newsletter sent to its distributors, DJI explains that customs justify this block under the Law on Prevention of Forced Labor of Uyghurs.
The company defends itself, however, by claiming this “forced labor is not used at any stage of production” of its drones. In a blog postDJI adds that it hopes “misunderstanding” it dissolves when the company has provided the customs with documents certifying its good faith. Furthermore, by 2025, the US Congress will have to decide whether to ban DJI drones in the United States – the law passed in 2024for security reasons, it is still far from having passed all the stages of the American parliamentary shuttle The limit.
#Chinese #drone #manufacturer #DJI #suing #Pentagon #blacklisting