President Donald Trump announced on Thursday (August 13, 2026) tariffs of up to 100% on imports of unmanned drones and their components to reduce U.S. reliance on imports in an industry dominated by China.
Key Statements
Last week, China announced restrictions on drone exports to the United States and blacklisted six companies in response to trade sanctions imposed by Washington over forced labor and national security concerns. The U.S. president justified the decision on national security grounds, according to a White House statement that detailed a 100 percent duty rate on the import of certain unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), as they are formally known. The Chinese company DJI, founded in 2006, has captured more than two-thirds of the global drone market in recent years, according to several studies.
The statement said the tariffs will “encourage increased domestic production” of drones and their components and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains. It is “critical that America be able to produce its own unmanned capabilities without parts or even raw materials from China,” Joshua Steinman, a supply chain expert formerly on the Trump administration’s National Security Council, told AFP .
Political Context
In late July 2026, the U.S. government also added humanoid and quadruped robots to a blacklist of products and companies barred from import into the United States, saying they posed critical national security risks.
