US House passes act that seeks to ban Chinese drones

The United States House of Representatives has passed the Countering CCP Drones Act with bipartisan support.

Introduced by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, the legislation would add Chinese drone company Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List prohibiting new models of DJI drones from operating on US communications infrastructure. 

In March, the Countering CCP Drones Act was marked up unanimously through the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Additionally, the legislation is included in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025.

Earlier this year, Stefanik introduced the Drones for First Responders Act to implement a new tariff on Chinese-controlled drones and use the tariff revenue to establish a new grant programme to help first responders, critical infrastructure providers, and farmers, purchase secure drones.

Background

In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, Congress banned the Department of Defense (DoD) from purchasing and using drones and components manufactured in China. In July 2021, the DoD stated that DJI systems pose a threat to U.S. national security and that mitigating the threats posed by DJI is a priority for the Department.  The Department of the Treasury added DJI to its list of Chinese Military-Industrial Complex companies in December 2021, and in January 2024, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation released cybersecurity guidance which states that Chinese-manufactured drones pose a significant risk to critical infrastructure and US national security.