Tariffs are back in the US, and this time they’re targeted at drones. According to a statement posted by The White House on Thursday, there will be a 25% tariff on drones smaller than 25kg (55lb) and components for them. This comes as the drone market in the US has already suffered a major blow when the FCC said it would no longer approve new drones from foreign companies for sale, effectively making it so none of the major drone makers (read: DJI) could launch their new products in the country.
The White House positions the tariffs as a way to “address the national security threat posed by imports of drones and their components,” though the statement specifically calls out that the smaller drones being tariffed at 25% “lack certain capabilities that particularly implicate national security.” The tariffs come down much harder on heavier industrial and agricultural models, or drones that have thermal imaging capabilities; those are being taxed at 100%.
This is the latest move from the US government aimed at curtailing the popularity of foreign-made drones. Last year, it made it so companies couldn’t get regulatory approval to sell new drones in the country, but allowed existing models to remain on store shelves. That hasn’t changed, but with the addition of tariffs, it seems certain that those drones will now be more expensive, leaving Americans to pay more for now-outdated models.
The tariffs on drones will take effect 21 days from when the proclamation was signed
The tariffs on drones will take effect 21 days from when the proclamation was signed, while the ones on some components may take a while longer to go into effect. In case it wasn’t clear that the administration was largely targeting drones made in China, the proclamation also contains a carveout on drones and components made in the EU, Japan, Liechtenstein, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the UK, as long as “substantially all hardware, software, and technology originates from within these countries and the United States.” If they meet that bar, they’ll only be tariffed at 15% (or 10% for the UK).
This isn’t the current US administration’s first attempt at tariffs. Last year it announced wide-ranging import tariffs on goods from virtually every other country, sparking trade wars, which saw threats of tariffs as high as 25% on goods from Japan, and up to 145% on Chinese imports. While they were in effect, nearly every camera company raised its prices on most or all of their products. While the reciprocal tariffs were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court earlier this year, we’ve yet to see a wholesale softening of those prices.
Our DPREVIEW Tribute:
After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview closed on 10 April 2023. This difficult decision was part of the annual operating plan review that parent company, Amazon, shared earlier this year.
Over the course of 25 years, DP Review built up a reputation as being one of the most informative places to go for information about that new camera or lens you’re after. DP Review began as an independent reviews site based in the UK in 1998, the brainchild of Philip and Joanna Askey, but it was eventually purchased by Amazon in 2007 and relocated over to Seattle in the USA in 2010.
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