Whatever DJI announces Monday still likely won’t come to the US

DJI announced its teaser for the “Pro in Mini” release event for this Wednesday. The expectation is that it will be the announcement of a refreshed DJI Mini drone, the Mini 5 Pro. However, if you’re in the US, you will have likely only seen DJI’s social posts and nothing else.

Usually, leading up to releases, you’ll see the teaser on social media, likely also an email if you’re on their mailing list, then go to DJI.com and see a button to click and wait for the announcement. For US DJI fans, the website is lacking anything to promote the release.

Even clicking on the link for the event shared by DJI’s social team, the page only shows the Mic 3 event that took place last August. However, if you go just north into Canada, you’ll find the “Pro in Mini” page just as normal.

This will likely not shock anyone reading this, but this likely means the rumored Mini 5 Pro will not be released in the U.S.

This is due to the same speculations as previous releases, as DJI hasn’t confirmed a proper reason for the halt in new US products. First, there is increased scrutiny at ports of entry. DJI drones have been harder to import, as US Customs and Border Protection have held them for anywhere from weeks to months while they investigate any potential slave labor in production. A claim that DJI has repeatedly denied; it doesn’t seem to have changed CBP’s mind. This began during the Biden Administration and was a leader in delayed launches of DJI drones.

What has affected other products from DJI are the tariffs on consumer electronics that the current administration has placed on Chinese imports. This has meant that even non-drone products from DJI have missed launching in the US, like the company’s entry into the 360 camera market with the Osmo 360.

With DJI being such a large company, the tariffs have made it hard to swallow and attempt to get products in the US while being cost-competitive with its competitors, some of whom are also Chinese companies. Insta360, for instance, based in China, has not seen any issues with bringing its X5 360 camera into the US for its launch. The only difference between the companies is their size; Insta360 is a much smaller team, likely meaning they can absorb the tariffs while sticking to their price points.

DJI would likely not be able to absorb the tariffs and still compete with the $549 price point at scale.

There is no end in sight for DJI’s troubles with the US. There is still an open risk of its drones being banned from the US if no agency completes a security review by the end of the year, and tariffs will likely not go away for at least the next three years.