It's not like world-leading drone manufacturer DJI has been embraced by the USA of late. After all, there has been lots of action in the government regarding banning the Chinese company's wares from these shores due to security concerns.
But has DJI decided to take its drones and leave?
On the surface, DJI claims it will continue to support the U.S. market. But a report from The Verge has revealed that retailers are finding it hard to stock DJI drones—or that they are reluctant to sell them due to the volatile U.S.-China tariff situation.
“We’re not really carrying DJI drones anymore because of the U.S.-China thing,” a Best Buy employee told The Verge's Sean Hollister when he visited his local store.
There's more — or more appropriately, there's NOT (much) more ...
As reported by DroneDJ on June 23, the DJI U.S. webstore currently has no drones to sell.
Amazon—where DJI has an "official presence"—appears to be offering drones via third parties with "low or unknown" stock.
B&H and Adorama stores are showing the latest DJI drones as "temporarily on backorder or out of stock."
To quote the late, great R&B singer Marvin Gaye: "What's going on?"
DJI is being cautiously vague.
"DJI remains committed to the U.S. market," shared DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong. "As we’ve previously shared, DJI has been working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to resolve a custom-related misunderstanding. Unfortunately, this has impacted our ability to stock and import drones and parts. We understand the frustration among our customers, but remain hopeful that this will be resolved."
At press time, there was no further comment from the company.
U.S. Customs and Border Protector apparently isn't going on record with the media about the situation either.
Will DJI suffer a United States ban on its products, or will it ban itself from the U.S.?
Only time will tell ...
