Commerce Department drops drone ban (but FCC rules still apply)

In a move that perfectly captures the chaotic, overlapping nature of U.S. drone policy, the Commerce Department quietly withdrew its plan to impose restrictions on Chinese-made drones — two weeks after the FCC already banned them.

Reuters broke the news Friday that Commerce pulled its drone restrictions proposal on Thursday, January 8, 2026. The withdrawal came after the department sent the proposal to the White House for review on October 8, held meetings through December 19 (including one with DJI officials on December 11), and apparently decided: never mind, the FCC already handled this.

What the U.S. Department of Commerce was planning (before the FCC beat them to it)

In early 2025, it became clear that the Commerce Department had planned to issue rules that could restrict or potentially ban imports of Chinese drones under the Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) supply chain regulations — the same authority used to effectively ban Chinese cars and trucks from the U.S. market.

Commerce said in January 2025 it was seeking input on potential rules to safeguard the supply chain for drones, warning that threats from China and Russia “may offer our adversaries the ability to remotely access and manipulate these devices, exposing sensitive U.S. data.” That likely meant banning certain onboard computers, communications systems, ground control stations and software from certain countries.

More than 600 members of the public responded, largely asking the government not to ban DJI drones.

To be clear, this proposed ban would have been more severe than what the FCC ultimately implemented in December 2025 by preventing the approval of future, foreign-made drones. That’s because it would have grounded existing equipment, making the DJI drones in your fleet illegal.

The FCC ban we got instead

On Dec. 22, 2025, the FCC added all foreign-manufactured drones and critical components to its Covered List, effectively banning them from receiving the equipment authorizations required to legally operate in the United States.

If you haven’t been following it (though it’s been covered extensively on this site), the FCC ban:

Prevents NEW drone models from getting FCC approval
Blocks foreign components from being certified
Does NOT prohibit existing drones from continued sale or use
Allows drones with pre-December 22 authorization to remain legal

This is a different legal mechanism than Commerce was planning to use, and arguably less disruptive since it grandfathered in existing equipment.

The Commerce Department just said “actually, never mind”

According to Reuters, Commerce withdrew its drone proposal on January 8 — just 17 days after the FCC implemented its ban.

The withdrawal came after the White House and Commerce held meetings on the drone proposal through December 19 (three days before the FCC announcement) and met with DJI officials on December 11.

In that December 11 meeting, DJI told officials that imposing blanket restrictions on drones manufactured in China would be “unnecessary, conceptually flawed, and would be extremely harmful to U.S. stakeholders.”

That last part is an understatement. A Pilot Institute survey of 8,056 drone operators found that 43.4% said losing access to new DJI drones would have an “extremely negative/potentially business-ending impact,” and 23.8% would shut down their drone-related businesses entirely.

But here’s what’s interesting: DJI’s arguments apparently didn’t convince anyone to stop the restrictions. They just convinced Commerce to let the FCC handle it instead.

The Political Context: Freezing Actions Against China

Reuters reports that the withdrawal appears tied to Washington freezing some actions targeting China ahead of President Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April.

A government official briefed on the matter told Reuters “it appeared the decision to withdraw the drone rule was tied to that effort.”

This is fascinating because it reveals the ban isn’t really about the urgent, catastrophic national security threat the government has been claiming. The FCC ban creates leverage in negotiations with China while giving American manufacturers regulatory protection. Commerce’s additional restrictions would have been overkill and potentially complicated Trump’s upcoming meeting with Xi.

What’s happening with all these drone bans

The Commerce Department withdrawal, coming weeks after the FCC already acted, exposes several things about how U.S. drone policy is being made:

1. Multiple agencies were pursuing overlapping bans simultaneously

Commerce and the FCC were both working on Chinese drone restrictions at the same time, possibly without fully coordinating. Commerce sent its proposal to the White House on October 8. The FCC received its National Security Determination on December 21 and implemented it immediately.

This suggests the drone ban wasn’t a carefully orchestrated national security response. It was multiple agencies rushing to be the one to implement restrictions, possibly competing for credit or trying to preempt each other.

2. The restrictions are negotiable

Commerce held meetings through December 19 — right up until the FCC announcement — and met with DJI officials on December 11. Then they withdrew the proposal entirely. The fact that Commerce pulled back suggests these restrictions are being treated as policy tools rather than urgent security imperatives.

3. Different mechanisms have very different impacts

The FCC’s equipment authorization ban is actually relatively moderate:

Existing drones remain legal
Operators can continue using current equipment indefinitely
DJI products approved before December 22 can still be sold
New models just need FCC approval, which DJI already secured for their 2026 lineup

Commerce’s ICTS supply chain restrictions could have been far more severe:

Potentially restricting operation of existing drones
Banning critical components across the board
Creating immediate operational impact rather than gradual transition

By withdrawing the Commerce proposal, the government chose the less disruptive path. That’s good for operators, but it again raises questions about how urgent the security threat actually is.

And then don’t forget that on Jan. 7, 2026, the FCC updated its Covered List to exempt certain drones until January 1, 2027, which include:

Drones on the DoD Blue UAS Cleared List
Drones meeting the 65% domestic content “Buy American Standard”
Individual products that receive Conditional Approvals

So are DJI drones still banned?

In short, yes, DJI drones that are not already FCC-approved (meaning future models) are still banned.

Commerce withdrawing its drone restrictions proposal doesn’t change anything for drone operators in the near term. The FCC ban is still in effect. The January 1, 2027 deadline for 65% domestic content still applies. Operators still face the same timeline and challenges.

But it reveals several important things:

The restrictions are more flexible than presented. If Commerce can withdraw its proposal for diplomatic reasons, other modifications are possible. The 65% domestic content requirement could change. The January 1, 2027 deadline could extend. Conditional Approvals might be granted broadly.

Trade negotiations will shape enforcement. If Trump wants something from Xi in their April meeting, drone policy could be part of the deal. Maybe DJI gets special treatment in exchange for concessions elsewhere. Maybe the domestic content requirement drops to 55% or 50%.

Multiple agencies aren’t coordinating well. The fact that Commerce and FCC were pursuing overlapping restrictions simultaneously suggests this wasn’t a unified national security strategy. It was agencies rushing to implement bans, possibly competing for credit or trying to establish jurisdiction.

The “urgency” is selective. If Chinese drones posed imminent catastrophic threats, you wouldn’t pause additional restrictions for diplomatic scheduling. The withdrawal reveals these are policy tools being used strategically, not emergency responses

With Commerce out of the picture on drones (for now), the focus shifts entirely to how the FCC implements and modifies its ban:

Conditional Approvals: How many companies actually get them? What’s required? Is the process transparent or riddled with political favoritism?

The January 1, 2027 reassessment: Will domestic content requirements increase as threatened? Will the Blue UAS exemption extend?

Legal challenges: DJI and other manufacturers haven’t sued yet. Are they negotiating instead? Waiting to see how enforcement actually plays out?

Trade negotiations: What happens at the Trump-Xi meeting in April? Does China retaliate against American drone manufacturers? Does a deal emerge?

Operator impact: As current DJI equipment ages over the next 12-24 months, do we see the business closures and reduced investment?

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