The President of the United States, Donald Trump, communicated this Thursday the application of tariffs of up to 100% on imported drones and their components, with the aim of supporting domestic manufacturers, strengthening internal supply chains, and decreasing technological dependence on other countries.
The measure, which will begin to be applied on September 3, nevertheless contemplates a period of up to 180 days from the signing for those components that are not considered "especially sensitive." The Trump Administration has defended this decision, stating that it intends to respond "to the threat to national security" that, according to the White House in a statement, these types of imports pose.
"The drones used, both for commercial and military purposes, depend on foreign sources to obtain critical components of unmanned aerial systems, which poses significant risks to the national security of the United States and creates vulnerabilities in cybersecurity," the document states, which considers it "necessary" to "rapidly expand" production within the country.
In this line, the White House has highlighted that "through negotiations with foreign trade partners and the strategic use of tariffs," the Republican leader has managed to attract private and foreign investment to "recover jobs and the American manufacturing industry, while diversifying global supply chains and reducing dependence on adversarial nations."
Types and levels of tariffs on drones
The maximum tariff of 100% will be applied to drones of certain dimensions or features considered "especially sensitive" for national security, as well as to associated docking stations and certain critical components. This group includes devices with a maximum takeoff weight exceeding 25 kilos and those equipped with thermal imaging capabilities.
At the same time, a tariff of 25% is set for smaller drones that do not have functions that particularly affect national security.
In the case of drones and parts from the European Union, Japan, Liechtenstein, South Korea, Switzerland, and Taiwan, the tariff rate will be 15%; while for products originating from the United Kingdom, it will be reduced to 10%, provided that practically all hardware, software, and technology comes from these countries and the United States.
According to Bloomberg, this decision could have a very relevant effect on the Chinese drone market, given that the Asian giant is the world's leading producer of unmanned aerial vehicles and that the company DJI Technologies, based in Shenzhen, in southeastern China, concentrated around 70% of the U.S. commercial drone market last year.