A new tariff that increases import fees on Chinese-made drones up to 100% went into effect Thursday. The move is the administration’s latest attempt to shore up support for domestic drone production and spurn China, the world’s largest producer.
The tariffs affect all drones made outside the U.S., but the biggest impact is on larger Chinese drones, which are used in multiple industries like film and agriculture. But critics worry the abrupt change could negatively impact groups that use drones, including those who use them for search-and-rescue and law enforcement efforts.
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What is the tariff rule?
The rule, first announced on Aug. 13, places a 100% tariff on Chinese drones that are 55 pounds or heavier and any that use thermal imaging. Drones smaller than that have a 25% tariff.
The tariff isn’t limited to drones made in China. Drones manufactured in the European Union, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland and Taiwan face a 15% tariff. Those made in Britain face a 10% levy.
This isn’t the Trump administration’s first attempt at limiting foreign-made drones. In July, the Federal Communications Commission proposed reclassifying drones that use thermal imaging and aerosol spray as “military-grade,” according to a public notice. Before that, the FCC effectively banned the import and sale of new foreign-made drone models and related components without a special waiver, citing national security concerns.
The commission said at the time that drone pilots could still fly and import previously authorized models, but the FCC’s July proposal would ban the import of many older models as well.
Supply chain woes
China is a manufacturing powerhouse and can support the quick production of drones and drone components. In May, The Wall Street Journal published a detailed analysis of how difficult it would be for the U.S. to onshore a drone supply chain.
The analysis said every major component would be, at some level, difficult for the U.S. to produce. The most difficult parts would be the brushless motors and battery.
Brushless motors generate lift, speed and change the direction of drones. These high-performance motors rely on rare-earth magnets, and China controls at least 90% of the world’s production, The Journal reported.
The batteries that power those motors are equally as difficult to produce in the U.S. because of the lithium polymers they’re created with. About 90% of the lithium refined in 2025 worldwide happened in two countries: China and Chile, according to Resources for the Future. As a result, most countries get their lithium batteries from China, including the U.S. California’s salt flats contain the world’s fifth-largest lithium deposit in the world, but reaching it is fraught with environmental concerns and red tape.
The analysis estimated that if the U.S. tried to onshore production of just those two components, costs could skyrocket from 100% to 400%. But other drone parts, like the camera, would be similarly challenging to manufacture without China. While the U.S. and its ally Japan are strong manufacturers of image sensors, almost all assembly happens in China.
The U.S. is making attempts to increase domestic drone production, but the cost is currently much higher than China’s drones. The publication said a U.S.-made quadcopter drone marketed for the military can cost more than $15,000, about three times as much as an equivalent Chinese drone.
The Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program, into which the U.S. has poured $1.1 billion, aims to lower the cost of a domestically made drone to about $2,300.
Industry responds
Some in the industry said the move, especially one so abrupt, wouldn’t give the American drone market enough time to respond and could negatively impact the thousands of businesses and groups that use the technology.
“It’s an industry-killing ban, if it goes through as written,” Vic Moss, an aerial photographer, told The New York Times. “There are zero domestic alternatives.”
One of the targeted features of the new tariffs is thermal imaging, which law enforcement and rescue crews often use to locate suspects and those who wander off into deep woods. Scott Mlakar, the chief of the Lake County Drone Unit, a group of firefighters and police officers in Ohio, told The Times it would prevent communities from using the technology.
“Most of this, in our humble opinion, is lobbying by U.S. manufacturers to eliminate foreign competition,” he said. “This is not national security. It’s protectionism.”
But others, like the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a conservative nonprofit, say the administration’s plan was a positive step.
“These new tariffs can ensure that the United States effectively secures its technology supply chains and combats Beijing’s efforts to dominate the global drone market,” said Jack Burnham, senior research analyst at FDD’s China Program.
Burnham told Straight Arrow the plan still offers allies “preferential access to the American market while encouraging domestic manufacturing.”
Trump’s family members have direct connections to the U.S. drone industry, according to The Times, which raises conflict of interest concerns. His eldest sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., are shareholders and advisory board members of Dominari Holdings, which invested in the Florida-based drone company, Powerus. Donald Trump Jr. also sits on the advisory board of Unusual Machines, the country’s top manufacturer of drone components.
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