DJI: USA imposes investment ban on drone manufacturer

Drones from manufacturer DJI, such as the DJI Mavic 3, enjoy enormous popularity. The U.S. is now blacklisting the Chinese technology company, which also offers action cams, for example, from investors and suppliers. Investments are henceforth no longer possible, but the products remain available. The DJI ban is already a done deal.

DJI ban: company blacklisted by US

As the Financial Times reports, the U.S. has blacklisted a whole eight new companies for investment. Among them is the Chinese company DJI, the world market leader for commercial drones. The reason given by the administration of Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, is involvement in the oppression of the Uighurs in China.

It is this Muslim minority that the U.S. is increasingly advocating for around the world. According to two people familiar with the events, the new companies on the list belonged to the “Chinese military-industrial complex”, according to the business newspaper. This brings the total number of companies on the blacklist, which bans investment, to about 60.

Trade embargo also expanded

All eight new companies on the blacklist, moreover, are already on the entity list for the trade embargo. They are accused by the Ministry of Commerce of enabling government surveillance of the Uighur settlement area.

Huawei’s entry on this list led to the smartphone manufacturer having to part with the Android operating system, which has had a huge impact on sales figures to this day. However, the products are still allowed to be sold in the US.

The ministry is said to be planning to blacklist more than two dozen other companies from China, according to a report by Reuters. Among them is Sensetime, a manufacturer of facial recognition software.

Sensetime’s main competitors, Megvii, and Cloudwalk Technologies, could also soon be on the list. Megvii has already been subject to a trade embargo, prompting the company to unceremoniously cancel its planned IPO.

DJI’s protest ignored

Drone manufacturer DJI had loudly protested the decision to ban the U.S. government. According to its own statement, there were no activities of the company that would justify these steps. However, after the change of government, the US government’s stance on the issue did not change.