DJI tells The edge that it cannot currently freely import all of its drones into the United States – and that its latest consumer drone, the Air 3S, will therefore not currently be sold at retail.

It is not because the United States suddenly banned DJI drones – DJI instead believes the import restrictions are “part of a broader initiative by the Department of Homeland Security to examine the origin of products, particularly in the case of drones made in China,” according to DJI.

DJI recently sent a letter to distributors explaining a possible reason DHS is shutting down some of its drones: The company says U.S. Customs and Border Protection is citing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) to justify blocking imports. In the letter, which has been circulating on drone sites and on Reddit for several days, DJI claims not to use forced labor to manufacture drones.

Reuters reported on the letter earlier today; DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong confirmed the legitimacy of the letter to The edge Also.

In a just-published official blog post, DJI calls the whole thing a “misunderstanding” and writes that it is currently sending documents to U.S. customs to prove that it is not manufacturing anything in China’s Xinjiang region, where Uyghurs have been forcibly detained. , that it complies with U.S. law and international standards, and that U.S. retailers have audited its supply chain. DJI claims to manufacture all of its products in Shenzhen or Malaysia.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment.

Although the United States House of Representatives has passed a bill that would effectively ban the importation of DJI drones into the United States, this ban is also expected to pass the Senate. The last time we checked, the Senate had deleted DJI’s ban on its version of the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 (although it was reintroduced as an amendment and could potentially still make it into the final bill).

DJI says the “customs issue” “primarily affected” the company’s enterprise and agricultural drones, but also “prevented us from offering the Air 3S to U.S. customers beyond DJI .com”.

“We are actively working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to resolve this issue and remain hopeful for a speedy resolution,” DJI wrote.

The U.S. government has cracked down on DJI drones before, but not in a way that would stop stores from buying them, consumers from buying them, or individual pilots from flying them in the United States. Primarily, the U.S. Commerce Department’s “entity list” prevents U.S. companies from exporting their technology to the Chinese company, and the U.S. has sometimes banned certain government entities from purchasing new DJI drones.

Even if DJI imports are banned by Congress, the proposed law suggests existing owners could still use their drones – but the FCC would no longer be able to allow DJI gadgets equipped with radios to be used in the United States, which would block effectively all imports.