Category Archives: Drone

Imported drones seized by Customs for not meeting FAA labeling requirements.

June 4, 2020 By in Drone, FAA, Import Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment
Image of seized drones, source: CBP.gov

Yesterday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) offiecers in Detroit seized over 4,600 remote controlled helicopter drones from China (see image of seized drones). The value of the drones is approximately $69,000 even though they were declared at $7,000.

The Customs media release did not specify the deficiencies in the labeling – however, since February 2019, the FCC has required all drones to display a registration number among other requirements.

If you are a toy or hobby importer and import drones and want to ensure your imports are compliant with FAA or Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines, contact import compliance attorney David Hsu by phone/text anytime 24/7 at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Elizabeth, New Jersey’s use of Chinese-made DJI drone restarts national security debate of Chinese made equipment.

April 24, 2020 By in Drone, national security, Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment

black dji mavic drone

Photo by Mudassir Ali on Pexels.com

The city of Elizabeth, New Jersey is deploying DJI amanufactured drones to enforce social distancing guidelines. Specifically, the drones will be deployed to warn Elizabeth citizens who are found to be outdoors and issue verbal warnings such as “Stop gathering, disperse and go home”.

I previously mentioned in this blog about prior US governmental use and the contents of an memo that claimed DJI’s commercial drones are giving sensitive US “infrastucture and law enforcement data to the Chinese government.” In fact, the U.S. Army has banned the use of all DJI drines since 2017.

In response, DJI claims full control of their drones belong to their owners and that no information is transmitted back to China. Since the outbreak of the corona virus, DJI has donated to 43 agencies across 22 states to enforce social distancing.

US Government agencies end use of Chinese-made drones.

January 17, 2020 By in cyber-security, Drone, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

pexels-photo-1623016

Photo by The Lazy Artist Gallery on Pexels.com

Last June, I posted about China-based drone manufacturer DJI shifting some drone production to America in order to manufacture US-spec drones to assuage fears China-made DJI drones could transmit sensitive US government data back to China.

Despite efforts by DJI, the US government agency, specifically the US Department of the Interior, has decided to ground their Chinese-made drone program. As a result, around 800 drones were grounded last October while a review evaluated the risks of using Chinese-made drones. This past week, government agencies decided to permanently cancel the drone program. 

The drones were used by scientific teams to map terrain, survey land, monitor earthquakes and also used by rescue teams – such as the rescue of a victim of the volcanic explosion in Hawaii in 2018. Drones used to fight wild fires and rescue people are still allowed to operate.

Besides government agencies, the US Army has also banned troops from using DJI-made drones due to cyber-security concerns.

Government agencies claim drone use is cheaper and less risky – without drones, manned aircraft would have to be used.

Chinese drone manufacturer DJI to shift some production to America.

June 27, 2019 By in Drone, Made in USA, Uncategorized Tags: , , , 1 Comment

black dji mavic drone

– Photo by Mudassir Ali on Pexels.com

Well known Chinese drone manufacturer – DJI will shift some production to the US to counter growing skepticism from the Trump administration. The Trump administration has suspected the flying drones could be used to send surveillance data back to China.

DJI announced they would open a production facility in Cerritos, California to assemble a version of their drone that is popular with federal and other government agencies. Known as the “Government Edition”, the new drones can only save data on the drone itself and not transmit any data, additionally, the information saved on the drone can only be accessed once the drone lands – there is no ability to wirelessly transmit information through the drone.

With a 70 percent market share for all drones in the US, it is no wonder DJI is taking great effort to be on the good side of the Trump administration.

Do you say your goods are “Made in the USA”? That’s great, and if you do, be sure you meet all the requirements to say your goods are “Made in the USA”. Contact country of origin expert David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at dh@gjatradelaw.com, attorney.dave@yahoo.com for a free no cost or obligation consultation.