US Commerce Department drops plan to impose restrictions on Chinese-made drones

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it has withdrawn a plan to impose restrictions on Chinese drones to address national security concerns after an earlier crackdown on passenger cars and trucks.



Last month, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission barred imports of new models of foreign-made drones and critical components including from China's DJI and Autel on U.S. national security grounds. The FCC this week said it was exempting some non-Chinese drones from the restrictions.



The Commerce Department said in September it planned to issue rules that could restrict or potentially bar imports of Chinese drones to address information and communication technology supply chain issues. It sent the proposal to the White House for review on October 8 before withdrawing the proposal on Thursday, according to a posting on a government website Friday.