Trump Imposes Tariffs of Up to 100% on Drone and Component Imports

On August 13, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on imports of drones and their components.

This announcement was made on the White House website.

Tariffs of up to 100% will be imposed on drones that are of particular importance to U.S. national security.

This category includes drones with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 25 kg, as well as those equipped with thermal imagers.

A 25% duty is imposed on drones with a maximum takeoff weight of up to 25 kilograms.

A 15% rate applies to drones from the European Union, Japan, Liechtenstein, South Korea, Switzerland, and Taiwan, while a 10% rate applies to imports from the United Kingdom. This is possible provided that a significant portion of the hardware, software, and technology originates from these countries and the United States.

Most tariffs will take effect 21 days after the order is signed. For drone components that are not classified as particularly sensitive, the tariffs will take effect 180 days later.

Officials in Washington noted that drones are a key technology in modern armed conflicts and are of critical importance to current and future U.S. military operations.

Drone production in the United States needs to expand rapidly to ensure the country’s national and economic security.

Ukrainian FPVs for the U.S.

Last month the U.S. military received the first 2 000 F10 FPV drones from the Ukrainian company F-Drones.

The supply was made following the results of the first phase, Gauntlet I, of the Drone Dominance Program, in which the F10 drone was selected by the Pentagon.

This is the first Ukrainian drone to receive official approval for export to the United States. The F-Drones participated in the program alongside its American partner, UDD Tech Corp.