US House votes to bar new DJI drones as 'China week' gets underway

By David Shepardson and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Monday to bar new drones from Chinese drone manufacturer DJI from operating in the United States, one of a series of measures aimed at China that lawmakers are considering this week.

The bill, which still needs to be approved by the U.S. Senate before it could become law, would prohibit the company's products from operating on U.S. communications infrastructure. It would not prevent existing DJI drones from operating in the United States.

Lawmakers have repeatedly raised concerns that DJI drones pose national security risks, something the company rejects.

"With this action, Congress will ensure that future versions of DJI drones cannot be imported, marketed or sold in the United States," said Representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

DJI, which sells more than half of all drones in the United States, opposes the bill that it said "restricts the ability of U.S. drone operators to buy and use the right equipment for their work, solely on the basis of the equipment's country of origin."

Congress has repeatedly voted to impose new restrictions on Chinese technology and in April voted to require China's ByteDance to divest to sell its TikTok U.S. assets by Jan. 19.

Another bill approved Monday would bar the Homeland Security Department from buying batteries from six Chinese companies including CATL.

Another bill passed seeks to deter China from invading or imposing a blockade of Taiwan, including one that would publish the assets of top Chinese leaders and cut them and family members off from the U.S. financial system if Beijing took action against Taiwan.

The U.S. House is also expected to vote later this week on tightening rules barring U.S. electric vehicles tax credits with Chinese content.

In January, new rules took effect limiting Chinese content in batteries eligible for EV tax credits. The House bill would make those limits more stringent.

With less than two months before the 2024 presidential and congressional elections, it is not clear if any China legislation will become law this year.

(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Chris Reese)