US slaps 100% tariffs on drones to counter Chinese dominance

JUST IN: The US imposes tariffs of up to 100% on drones and parts, effective today, targeting Chinese dominance led by DJI.

One hundred percent. That's the tariff America just slapped on drones and drone parts, effective today.

The target isn't subtle. Beijing dominates this market, and DJI dominates Beijing's share of it. Walk into any camera shop, any farm supplier, any film set in America, and the drone on the shelf is almost certainly Chinese. Here's the kind of hardware we're talking about, and this is exactly the dependence Washington wants to break.

Doubling the price of the market leader doesn't magically create an American rival overnight, though. It just makes the thing everyone already buys twice as expensive while domestic manufacturers try to catch up. Hobbyists will grumble. Businesses that run fleets of these will do real math.

So the bet Washington is making is simple. Pay more now, build your own later. The bill lands on American buyers first, starting today.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.