Trump’s Tariffs Passed on to DJI Customers

DJI, the drone industry’s leading manufacturer, has raised USD prices on its hardware across the board in response to a new raft of tariffs implemented by the Trump administration at the start of September.

The latest round of tariffs on Chinese imports means that over 60% of consumer goods from China now come with higher taxes. It appears as though those costs are being passed directly on to DJI customers in the United States, who have seen increases of around 13% to products including the Mavic 2.

Read more: Tariffs with a Capital T: How the Trade War with China is Affecting the Drone Community

A DJI statement given to The Verge explaining the price rises said:

Due to the recent increase in tariffs, DJI has updated pricing for its products in the United States. We take many factors into account when recommending retail prices in different countries around the world, including tariff applications, tax rates and currency exchange fluctuations. We follow all applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate and will continue to work toward making drone and handheld products more accessible to the world while supporting the many existing customers that use DJI technology daily.”

Read more: DJI’s Origin Story and the Effects of the US and China Trade War

Trade War Hits DJI

It was inevitable that the escalating trade war between China and the US would hit the pockets of drone industry customers. Marginal tariffs are sometimes swallowed by manufacturers, but with taxes on Chinese consumer product imports rising by as much as 15%, some of those extra costs were always going to be passed on.

The Mavic 2 Pro, launched in August 2018, is now $1,729 up from $1,499. The Mavic Air in Arctic White is now up to $919 from a previous price of $799. It doesn’t appear as though other retailers, including Amazon, have raised their prices accordingly as of yet.