US sanctions drone-maker DJI

The US has imposed more restrictions on Chinese drone-maker DJI and seven other Chinese companies. On Thursday, the Treasury Department put the companies on an investment exclusion list, banning US citizens from buying and selling shares in them.

It has been alleged that DJI's drone technology has been used for the surveillance of Uyghur Muslims in China. However the ban is largely symbolic as DJI is not a publicly-traded company.

Consumers in the US can continue to buy and use DJI drones.

In 2020, the Department of Commerce barred US companies from exporting products to DJI, which has been judged to be a national security threat by the Department of Defense.

According to the Reuters news agency, more than 900 US public safety agencies including police in New York City use DJI products. The National Park Service has used DJI drones to help fight wildfires in California. The company had close to an 80% market share in consumer drones last year in the US, according to Drone Industry Insights.

Telecoms giant Huawei remains on a US trade exclusion list imposed by the Trump administration, barring US companies from doing business with it.

Reuters has reported that the Biden administration is considering imposing more sanctions on China's biggest chip-maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation.