Many Americans have come to rely on Chinese-made drones. Now lawmakers want to ban them

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russell Hedrick, a North Carolina farmer, flies drones to spray fertilizers on his corn, soybean and wheat fields at a fraction of what it would cost him to use a conventional ground spreader.

As a volunteer rescuer, Hedrick uses thermal drones to search for people trapped by mudslides and cargo drones to send water and baby formula to those who are stranded — something he did after Hurricane Helene.

Now he is fretting that one day he will have to ground his drone fleet. Most commercial drones sold in the United States, including those used by Hedrick, are made in China. They have become a target of U.S. lawmakers, who see the dominance of Chinese drones not only as an espionage threat but as a commercial threat because they make it nearly impossible for American manufacturers to compete.

It’s another front in the U.S.-China economic and technological competition that’s likely to intensify with the return to the White House in January of Republican Donald Trump, who has promised to get tough on China.

Washington has already placed restrictions on Chinese telecommunications companies and imposed high tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles as the U.S. competes with China in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and other areas.

A defense bill that Congress passed on Dec. 18 includes a clause to stop two Chinese companies from selling new drones in the U.S. if a review finds they pose “an unacceptable risk” to American national security. Congress has banned federal agencies from acquiring Chinese drones, with some exceptions, and several states have barred publicly funded programs from using or procuring Chinese drones.

A broader ban is worrisome for Americans for whom drones have become a part of their lives and work. It could disrupt wide-ranging operations, from law enforcement to mapping and filmmaking that drone operators say are viable because of the low cost and high performance of the Chinese drones. American-made drones just aren’t comparable, they say.

In Hickory, North Carolina, Hedrick began flying Chinese-made drones in 2019 to fertilize crops and monitor crop health. A drone spreader costs $35,000, while a conventional ground sprayer would set him back $250,000, he said.

“With the drone efficiency, we are able to do things we were never able to do before: to apply fertilizer but use less, which is good for American consumers,” Hedrick said.

But it’s precisely that reliance on Chinese drones that worries U.S. lawmakers.

“It is strategically irresponsible to allow Communist China to be our drone factory,” argued Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who has been tapped by Trump to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She led earlier House efforts to ban new Chinese drones.

It was the role of drones in everyday life that drove Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to get Congress to restrict the purchase of Chinese drones by federal agencies. Those restrictions were included in a defense bill that Democratic President Joe Biden signed last year.

Scott has compared Chinese drones to spy balloons that could “gather data or carry harmful payloads” across America, posing risks to military bases, critical infrastructure and natural resources.

Michael Robbins, president and chief executive officer of AUVSI, an advocacy group for unmanned vehicles such as drones, opposes an immediate ban. Instead, his group has urged the government to support the U.S. drone-making industry through investment so it can catch up with its Chinese competitors in both capability and cost.

He applauds Congress for addressing some of the issues in the 2025 defense budget, including promoting investment in autonomous technology and working to develop a secure supply chain for U.S. drone manufacturing.

That vulnerability was clear earlier this year when Beijing sanctioned the U.S. drone maker Skydio, forcing it to ration its batteries sourced from China.

“This is an attempt to eliminate the leading American drone company and deepen the world’s dependence on Chinese drone suppliers,” wrote Adam Bry, chief executive officer of Skydio.

Citing security interests, China has restricted exports to the U.S. of drone parts, including motors, flight controllers and imaging equipment.

John Goodson, CEO of Darkhive, a San Antonio-based drone maker, said a ban would not stop Chinese drone makers from selling their products elsewhere in the world but could hurt U.S. drone companies that rely on China for parts.

For now, it remains unrealistic to ban Chinese drones when there are few comparable products, said Faine Greenwood, a drone enthusiast who writes extensively about drones. “If we ban the Chinese drones, we knock out many amazing things we do.”

The best-known Chinese drones are those by DJI Technology Co., a company founded in 2006 and based in the southern city of Shenzhen. It's named in the defense spending bill, along with another Chinese company, Autel Robotics.

DJI has the lion's share of the global drone market and is the dominant player in the U.S. market. Its devices are known for their affordability and high performance. They are even used on the battlefield in Ukraine by both sides, even though DJI does not make military drones.

DJI's drones have been used by first responders to locate disaster victims, mappers to survey roads and utility lines, mosquito control officers to reach swarms of larvae, and filmmakers to capture aerial footage. Police use them to help prevent crime and find missing people.

Hedrick, the North Carolina farmer, mobilized drone search efforts as a volunteer after Helene hit. On the first night, he and his teammates located 150 stranded people. When they could not be immediately rescued, Hedrick said his team used DJI cargo drones to send in supplies.

“I am not going to say I won’t love to have U.S. drones, but I don’t see the American drones as anywhere close to the DJI drones in terms of reliability, ease of use, and just the user-friendly software,” Hedrick said. “The U.S. drones are not as good as the DJI ones but cost twice as much.”

But as U.S.-China relations have soured, DJI drones have come under scrutiny. The U.S. government has put the company on several blacklists, saying it violates human rights by supplying drones to Chinese police to surveil members of the ethnic Uyghur minority, and alleging links to the Chinese military.

DJI has denied wrongdoing and is suing the Pentagon over the designation that it is a Chinese military company. U.S. customs officials also have blocked some DJI shipments over concerns that the products might have been made with forced labor. DJI has called it “a customs-related misunderstanding.”

As for the defense bill, DIJ said it contains no provision that would allow the company to defend itself. “We call on a relevant technical intelligence agency to undertake an audit of our products, and we ask for a fair right of reply to any findings,” DJI said.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said China opposes what it calls the politicization of trade.

“The Chinese government firmly supports Chinese companies in carrying out international trade and cooperation in drones for civilian use, and opposes certain countries’ frequent illegal sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals on the grounds of so-called national security,” Liu Pengyu, the embassy spokesman, said in a statement.

Several states have already restricted the use of Chinese drones. In Tennessee, public agencies, including police and fire departments, are no longer allowed to purchase DJI drones.

That caused a headache for Capt. Chris Lowe of the Kingsport Fire Department. After his department lost a DJI Mavic Pro drone, he was quoted $5,000 for a replacement from an approved list of drones, when another DJI Mavic Pro would cost $1,000 to $1,500.

“Basically it would be a DJI clone but doesn’t have all the capabilities,” Lowe said of the alternative. Without any state assistance, he said he would either forgo a new drone or tighten the belt in equipment maintenance elsewhere. He said the department has used drones to scope out wildfires, chemical leaks and disaster scenes and to search for missing people. “It's about life and death,” he said.

In Wimberley, Texas, Gene Robinson has used high-resolution drone images to analyze differences in vegetation to discover buried bodies. He said he helped police find a victim's buried arm, making prosecution possible. Robinson doesn’t think there’s a viable alternative to the DJI drone he uses.

He said his project at Texas State University's Forensic Anthropology Center would be “deader than a doornail” if there's a national ban on Chinese-made drones.

At the Interior Department, the policy against foreign-made drones has hamstrung its drone operations, resulting in the “loss of opportunities to collect data on landscape, natural and cultural resources, wildlife and infrastructure," according to a September report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

In Florida, law enforcement officers last year complained to the state senate that a ban on state-funded agencies operating Chinese-made drones left them with costlier aircraft that didn't perform as well. That prompted state lawmakers to appropriate $25 million to help government-run drone programs acquire compliant models.

Christopher Todd, executive director of the not-for-profit group Airborne International Response Team, described the ban and the subsequent switch as “an absolute mess."

“Lawmakers failed to understand that this issue is far more complicated than simply changing from one drone to another," he said. “You need to learn a new user interface with new shortcuts and new protocols, and then you need to change all of the software and accessories and re-examine all of your network configurations to accommodate the technology change."

But the financial assistance as well as training programs, such as the one provided by his group, made the transition possible, he said.

More than 90% of law enforcement agencies in Florida used DJI drones in 2022, and the share plummeted to about 14% after the ban, according to Todd's group.

In Orange County, where Orlando is located, the sheriff's office said it spent nearly $580,000 to replace 18 noncompliant drones last year and received nearly $400,000 in reimbursements from the state.

“The transition has gone well and has simultaneously increased our drone fleet with better capabilities and technology,” the sheriff's office said.

Russell Hedrick takes a DJI drone out of the closet to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick prepares a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick uses a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick shows footage of when he used his drone to drop supplies to people during Hurricane Helene recovery, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick prepares a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick shows footage of when he used his drone to drop supplies to people during Hurricane Helene recovery, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick pulls out an EA Vision drone on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick prepares a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick prepares a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick's DJI drone puts crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick's DJI drone puts crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick uses a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick's DJI drone puts crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick puts a battery in a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick's DJI drone puts crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick's DJI drone puts crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick prepares a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick's DJI drone puts crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick prepares a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick pulls out an EA Vision drone on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick uses a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick's DJI drone puts crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick uses a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick flies a drone on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick prepares a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Russell Hedrick prepares a DJI drone to put crop cover on his farm, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Hickory, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — The Nativity Store in Manger Square has sold handmade olive wood carvings and religious items to people visiting the traditional birthplace of Jesus since 1927. But as Bethlehem prepares to mark its second Christmas under the shadow of the war in Gaza, there are almost no tourists, leaving the Nativity Store and other businesses unsure of how much longer they can hold on.

For the second straight year, Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations will be somber and muted, in deference to ongoing war in Gaza. There will be no giant Christmas tree in Manger Square, no raucous scout marching bands, no public lights twinkling and very few public decorations or displays.

“Last year before Christmas, we had more hope, but now again we are close to Christmas and we don’t have anything,” said Rony Tabash, the third-generation owner of Nativity Store.

Israel's war against Hamas has been raging for nearly 15 months, and there still is no end in sight. Repeated ceasefire efforts have stalled.

Since the war began, tourism to Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank has plummeted. And after Israel barred entry to most of the 150,000 Palestinians in the West Bank who had jobs in Israel, the Palestinian economy contracted by 25% in the past year.

The yearly Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem — shared among Armenian, Catholic and Orthodox denominations — are usually major boons for the city, where tourism accounts for 70% of its yearly income. But the streets are empty this season.

Tabash said he continues to open the store every day, but often an entire week will go by without a sale. Tabash works with more than 25 local families who create hand-carved religious items out of the region’s storied olive wood. But with no buyers, work has dried up for these families.

The number of visitors to the city plunged from a pre-COVID high of around 2 million visitors per year in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 visitors in 2024, said Jiries Qumsiyeh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian tourism ministry.

According to the Christmas story, Mary was forced to give birth to Jesus in a stable because there was no room at the inn. Today, nearly all of Bethlehem’s 5,500 hotel rooms are empty.

The city’s hotel occupancy rate plunged from around 80% in early 2023 to around 3% today, said Elias Al Arja, the head of Bethlehem Hoteliers Association. At his own hotel, the Bethlehem Hotel, he said he has laid off a staff of more than 120 people and retains just five employees.

The city hosts more than 100 stores and 450 workshops dealing with traditional Palestinian handicraft, Qumsiyeh said. But just a week before Christmas, when the city should be bursting with visitors, Manger Square was mostly empty save for a few locals selling coffee and tea. Only two of the eight stores in the main drag of the square were open for business.

Qumsiyeh worries that when the war ends and tourism eventually rebounds, many of the families that have handed down traditional skills for generations will no longer be making the items that reflect Palestinian heritage and culture.

Many are leaving the region entirely. “We have witnessed a very high rate of emigration since the beginning of the aggression, especially among those working in the tourism sector,” said Qumsiyeh.

Almost 500 families have left Bethlehem in the past year, said Mayor Anton Salman. And those are just the families who moved abroad with official residency visas. Many others have moved abroad on temporary tourist visas and are working illegally, and it's unclear if they will return, Salman said.

Around half of the population in the Bethlehem area, including nearby villages, works in either tourism or in jobs in Israel.

The unemployment rate in Bethlehem is roughly 50%, said Salman. Unemployment across the West Bank is around 30%, according to the Palestinian Economy Ministry.

Canceling Christmas festivities is one way to draw attention to the difficult situation in Bethlehem and across the Palestinian territories, said Salman. “This year we want to show the world that the Palestinian people are still suffering and they haven’t the joy that everybody else in the world having,” said Salman.

It is another blow to the Holy Land's dwindling population over the decade due to emigration and a low birthrate.

Christians are a small percentage of the population. There are about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department.

Father Issa Thaljieh, the parish priest of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Church of the Nativity, said many families are struggling financially, leaving them unable to pay rent or school fees, much less buy Christmas presents or celebrate the holiday in other ways. The church’s social services have tried to help, but the needs are great, he said.

Thaljieh said his Christmas message this year focused on encouraging Palestinians in Bethlehem to stay despite the challenges.

“A church without Christians is not a church,” he said, as workers hand-polished the ornate brass candelabras in the cavernous, empty church a week before the holiday.

“The light that was born when Jesus Christ was born here is the light that moves beyond darkness, so we have to wait, we have to be patient, we have to pray a lot, and we have to stay with our roots because our roots are in Bethlehem,” he said.

Some families are finding ways to bring back pockets of joy.

Bethlehem resident Nihal Bandak, 39, gave into her three children’s requests to have a Christmas tree this year, after not having one last year. Decorating the tree is the favorite part of Christmas of her youngest daughter, 8-year-old Stephanie.

Mathew Bandak, 11 was thrilled his family brought back some of their traditions, but also torn.

“I was happy because we get to decorate and celebrate, but people are in Gaza who don’t have anything to celebrate,” he said.

Rony Tabash, the third-generation owner of Nativity Store, said he will continue to open the store, because it’s part of his family’s history.

“We are not feeling Christmas, but in the end, Christmas is in our hearts,” he said, adding that the entire city was praying for a ceasefire and peace. “We have a big faith that always, when we see Christmas, it will give us the light in the night.”

A shop near Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, seen ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A man rests by a row of empty shops near the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A boy sells balloons outside the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A man waits outside a souvenir shop near the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A boy waits outside a souvenir shop near the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Birds fly above the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A worshipper visits the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A worshipper lights a candle in the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Workers tend to stairs in the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A priest walks in the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Workers in the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Worshippers pray in the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Priests pray in the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Worshippers visit the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)