US adds drone maker Autel Robotics to trade blacklist

The United States has added Chinese drone maker Autel Robotics to its trade blacklist due to national security concerns. Tech giant DJI was placed on this list in 2020. But at that time, the US Department of Commerce cited “human rights abuses” as the reason behind DJI’s inclusion in its “Entity List”.

The Entity List is a US government compilation of foreign individuals, companies, and organizations deemed a national security concern, subjecting them to export restrictions and licensing requirements for certain technologies and goods. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has been maintaining this list since 1997 to inform the public of entities allegedly involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.

With its addition to the list, Shenzhen-based Autel Robotics is now forbidden from accessing or transferring certain technologies from the US unless specifically approved. So, the default setting now will be to deny those transactions to Autel as long as the company is on the list unless specific exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis. DJI, for instance, was barred from procuring US-made chips, sensors, and other technology.

So, what does this mean for Autel drone users? Well, you will still be able to buy Autel drones, but Autel won’t be able to buy US technology while it’s on the US government blacklist.

Also see: Autel releases critical firmware update for EVO II V3 drone users in EU and UK

Republic lawmakers John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Elise Stefanik, the force behind a potential DJI ban in the US, released the below statement following news of Autel being blacklisted by the Commerce Department:

Following our advocacy, the Commerce Department added malign Chinese controlled drone maker, Autel, to its government blacklist. No American should support companies like DJI and Autel that are arming Communist China and have the ability to spy on American soil. While this is a strong first step, the Senate must now take up and pass the House-passed Countering CCP Drones Act and ban the introduction of new CCP-linked drones from American skies.

Though nowhere as intense as the treatment met out to DJI, the US government scrutiny of Autel Robotics is not new.

In 2023, a host of bipartisan lawmakers urged the Biden administration to open investigations into the company, arguing that Autel is openly affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and poses a direct threat to US national security. “Local law enforcement and state and local governments are purchasing and operating Autel drones, potentially exposing sensitive data across the country,” the coalition said.

The lawmakers further stressed that Autel and its affiliates present themselves as a commercial-oriented business, but Chinese-language web postings reveal that the company is an active PLA supplier, as indicated by Autel job ads recruiting for a military industry sales director, while also publicly working alongside a PLA militia.

“Recent ventures for Autel have included the issuing of new products and drones marketed as ‘aircraft manufactured in the USA with foreign and domestic parts and labor.’ Closer inspection reveals that Autel’s supposedly ‘made in USA’ drone is comprised of microchips and components from PRC technology companies ZTE and HiSilicon, the latter of which was added to the Commerce Entity List in 2019,” the lawmakers said.

More recently, lawmakers nudged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to declassify information regarding the potential national security risks posed by Chinese-manufactured drones, particularly DJI and Autel.

Read more: ‘We had nothing to do with it’: Skydio CEO on DJI drone ban bill