Any update on the pending US DJI ban?

[Etbrown4]

Is there any evidence that some US security agency is studying the question of whether DJIs drones pose a security risk to the US, in advance of the 12/31/25 drop dead date?

 

[Cafguy]

The government is supposed to schedule a security review of DJI by the 23rd of Dec. but no agency has scheduled the review, so if no review is done then DJI will not be able to sell drones here.
I think its all sort of "rigged" and I think DJI thinks so too. They don't ship drones or parts here any longer.

 

[Etbrown4]

Since president Trump is known to be transactional, I wonder if DJI has considered giving $25 million to the new White House ballroom project.

It would absolutely get Trump’s attention, and maybe a quick security assessment!

It's how he rolls. Maybe Vic Moss can work that message back to DJI.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Since president Trump is known to be transactional, I wonder if DJI has considered giving $25 million to the new White House ballroom project.

It would absolutely get Trump’s attention, and maybe a quick security assessment!

It's how he rolls. Maybe Vic Moss can work that message back to DJI.

White House ballroom project is already fully sold out to other billionaires who were seeking favor. Perhaps there is a waiting list for his next pet project.

 

[Cafguy]

Maybe trumps holding out for DJI to gift him a flying presidential limousine

 

[Etbrown4]

This may well be a case where a few dollars makes the difference. A few million that is.
Don't need legislation, just money.

 

[GeorgiaPI]

Its actually getting worse. THIS was in the news a couple days ago.

 

[Vic Moss]

Sorry, I've been swamped lately. There are still some background discussions taking place. Nothing concrete has been accomplished. There is still time, but at this point, it's more likely we can get an extension than an actual audit. But an audit still isn't out of the question.

I do have a meeting that supposed to take place with the VPOTUS' office in the next couple of weeks. Once that happens, I'll share what we accomplished.

The "ban" is not a done deal.

 

[Cafguy]

If no agency will see DJI before the 23rd then how will DJI defend themselves?

 

[anotherlab]

White House ballroom project is already fully sold out to other billionaires who were seeking favor. Perhaps there is a waiting list for his next pet project.

He'll never not accept a donation for his presidential library.

 

[BlueHeeler]

If no agency will see DJI before the 23rd then how will DJI defend themselves.

With $$$$$

 

[anotherlab]

With $$$$$

What does that even mean? It's not like DJI doesn't have enough money to throw at this problem. If that were all it took, this problem would have been solved a long time ago.

It's not like they can target a single politician; the bills that targeted DJI had wide bipartisan support. DJI needs to have their agriculture, LEO, and first responders customers speak up as a group.

 

[Aerophile]

What does that even mean? It's not like DJI doesn't have enough money to throw at this problem. If that were all it took, this problem would have been solved a long time ago.

It's not like they can target a single politician; the bills that targeted DJI had wide bipartisan support. DJI needs to have their agriculture, LEO, and first responders customers speak up as a group.

Well, there's one US politician that could easily and immediately "solve the problem." But that would probably require far too large a donation for DJI.

I believe that the company's name, "DJI" stands for "Da-Jiang Innovations". Maybe it would help if they could just change the company name to "Da-Jiang Technology" and enclose as big a check as they can stomach.

 

[Nanny Ogg]

Its actually getting worse. THIS was in the news a couple days ago.

This is the danger when ignorant people are elected to high office. If senator scott understood how many first responders depend on DJI drones for search and rescue work he wouldn't want to ban them. On the other hand, maybe he just received a campaign contribution from skydio.

 

[hank970]

The government is supposed to schedule a security review of DJI by the 23rd of Dec. but no agency has scheduled the review, so if no review is done then DJI will not be able to sell drones here.
I think its all sort of "rigged" and I think DJI thinks so too. They don't ship drones or parts here any longer.

Best Buy is currently (10/24/2025) advertising a broad assortment of DJI drones for sale, but the prices are staggering. The Air 3 fly more combo, for example, is $2800 -- the result of tariffs, I suppose.

And so, the question is, are these drones non-replenishable items in a dwindling inventory, or is DJI still shipping to Best Buy? If the latter, that's good. If not, and if the product entered the US prior to imposition of the higher tariffs, is that good business practice or price-gouging?

 

[Cafguy]

Some I am sure are inventory. The newest models are that price here I believe Because they are getting them from their stores in Canada and paying the fees and passing that on to you.

 

[Cafguy]

He'll never not accept a donation for his presidential library.

What would be in that? 6 seasons of the apprentice on DVD and a Trumpy bear?

 

[anotherlab]

This is the danger when ignorant people are elected to high office. If senator scott understood how many first responders depend on DJI drones for search and rescue work he wouldn't want to ban them. On the other hand, maybe he just received a campaign contribution from skydio.

It's not exactly a secret that Skydio spent over 800k on lobbying efforts last year and will probably spend about 80k more than that for this year. Worth noting that DJI spends about double that amount, but their spending is going down each year.

 

[mavic3usa]

Best Buy is currently (10/24/2025) advertising a broad assortment of DJI drones for sale, but the prices are staggering. The Air 3 fly more combo, for example, is $2800 -- the result of tariffs, I suppose.

And so, the question is, are these drones non-replenishable items in a dwindling inventory, or is DJI still shipping to Best Buy? If the latter, that's good. If not, and if the product entered the US prior to imposition of the higher tariffs, is that good business practice or price-gouging?

I'm sorry but once again, this is the same thing Amazon is doing. Just because you go to bestbuy.com doesn't mean "Best Buy" is selling it. In fact, it appears most of the drones on their website are sold by Beach Camera. Both Amazon and Best Buy are duplicit with this tactics because they are aware many people are confused and they do very little to make it clear. It's a legal marketing internet practice and most consumer should know this by now....but apparently they don't. Best Buy sells a MSRP, they would never mark up their drones by 50% because they would never want to pass along tariffs directly to the customer.

Best Buy no longer does business with DJI. If you go to a Best Buy store, the former drone display fixtures are void of DJI drone which are removed and no longer on the planogram. There is no slot for anything new so nothing is coming. Shipping drones to Best Buy (similar to Amazon) requires a contract, a deal with pricing, logistics, inventory issues, model selections, schedules, etc. DJI can't just sell a crate of drones or ship a container of drones to Best Buy for sale. Best Buy product managers decides who and when they buy from, not the other way around. DJI has lost that channel because Best Buy can't be bothered with sporadic shipments, late launches, uncertain regulations, high pricing (including tariffs) and no manufacturer support. I wouldn't be surprised if Best Buy shipped their remaining inventory of unsold DJI drones back to DJI last spring. DJI has de-listed Best Buy from the DJI official seller website and it's going to take years to get back in there; it won't be as simple as shipping a bunch of old Minis and Mavics and Avatars to Best Buy distributions centers and say have at it. DJI is going to have to fly to Minnesota and sit down and have a real discussion when China is welcomed back into the US.

 

[BlueHeeler]

What does that even mean? It's not like DJI doesn't have enough money to throw at this problem. If that were all it took, this problem would have been solved a long time ago.

It's not like they can target a single politician; the bills that targeted DJI had wide bipartisan support. DJI needs to have their agriculture, LEO, and first responders customers speak up as a group.

It can mean any one of these possibilities:
Lobbying
US Factories
Investments and Tech Sharing with US Drone Companies
Lawfare