Trump Imposes Up to 100% Tariffs on Imported Drones to Boost Local Production
WASHINGTON: President of the United States Donald Trump unveiled new, far-reaching tariffs on unmanned aerial drones and their key components, up to 100 percent. The landmark decision was made on national security grounds, the White House says. The new policy will impose a hefty 100 percent import duty on high-end drones weighing more than 25 kilograms or those fitted with sensitive features like thermal imagers, docking stations, etc. A 25 percent tariff has been imposed on smaller imported drones and other non-sensitive parts will be treated equally.
The White House stressed that most of these new tariffs will officially go into effect September 3. The main goal of the measure is to accelerate the production of drones within the country, decrease the reliance on foreign supply chains and beat foreign market dominance. This comes just after recent trade retaliations and export limits, and Washington is ratcheting up its technology and hardware controls.