DJI added to Commerce Department ‘entity list’

Following numerous reports that the U.S. government was seeking to crack down on

DJI,

the Department of Commerce today will be adding the drone giant to its “Entity List.” Reuters

and Drone DJ

have issued early reporting based on a conference call with a state official. The full list of 77 impacted companies is available here

.

The news comes as a pretty massive blow to DJI. The 14-year-old Chinese company has been an utterly dominant force in the drone category. Here in the States, it commands an estimated 77% of the market.

Increased tensions between the U.S. and China have long been a looming concern for DJI’s presence in the States, with surveillance capabilities being a particular sticking point. Along with their wildly successful consumer drones, DJI also has a wide reach in both industrial and governmental applications. In fact, the company specifically offers a

government line of products

as part of its enterprise offerings.

DJI is one of dozens of companies added to the list. Also of note is chipmaker, SMIC. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross didn’t mince words in a statement issued after the list went public,

China’s corrupt and bullying behavior both inside and outside its borders harms U.S. national security interests, undermines the sovereignty of our allies and partners, and violates the human rights and dignity of ethnic and religious minority groups. Commerce will act to ensure that America’s technology—developed and produced according to open and free-market principles—is not used for malign or abusive purposes.

“China actively promotes the reprehensible practices of forced labor, DNA collection and ubiquitous surveillance to repress its citizens in Xinjiang and elsewhere. Over the last two years this administration has added nearly 50 entities to the Entity List for their support for the Chinese Communist Party’s despicable offensive against vulnerable ethnic minorities. With these new additions, we are applying those principles to the rest of China, including in Tibet, and to the authoritarian regimes to which these practices are being exported.

Unlike SMIC, Ross has yet to specifically disclose the reason for DJI’s inclusion on the list.

The DOC notably placed Huawei and several of its affiliates to the list last year, a move that has severely hamstrung the hardware giant. Among other things, it’s cut off the company’s access from key U.S. technologies like Google’s Android and other software. Huawei has opted to develop its own operating system, but the landing has been a difficult one to stick.

There’s been a good deal of talk around restricting use of the company’s technology by federal and state departments, but this update could prove even more sweeping. DJI has been bracing for this manner of revelation over the past year and chance. The drone maker

has spent a lot of time

and resources lobby on Capitol Hill. There’s been a good deal of speculation around the shape these bans will take after a new President is sworn in on January 20.

We’ve reached out to both DJI and the DOC and will update accordingly.

Troubles rise for China’s biggest chipmaker SMIC