DJI responds to price-exploding “Drones for First Responder Act” (dronedj.com)
The proposed law would add a 30% tariff, increasing by 10 percentage points each year, plus a $100 fee – to the purchase of drones made in China. According to other reports, the proposed law would also ban the use of China-made parts in both drones and RC controllers.
Within 5 years, many drones would costs 3x more than today – if they were even made by a U.S. company (they are not). The proposed ban on parts would potentially eliminate most RC aircraft controllers.
In effect, Republicans are seeking a de facto ban on quadcopters, drones and hobby RC aircraft flown in the U.S. Future flight would be largely restricted to those with a lot of money. I have long suspected the government would eventually require Federal licensing for all drone pilots – and this push by Republicans seems part of that. In a few years, they seem to be aiming to restrict drone operations primarily to licensed commercial operators and to de facto ban flight by ordinary citizen consumers.
