Chinese Labor Issues Keep Imports Hung Up at Port

The DJI Neo was a surprising hit amongst content creators, acting as an autonomous cameraman and lightweight tag-along, but the regulatory environment of 2025 may keep its sequel away.

The DJI Neo 2 recently showed up on the FCC website, an essential step whenever a new drone came to the U.S. domestic market. But drone fans have been eyeing shipments of DJI gear with nervous eyes, since a reinvigorated US Customs and Border Protection agency has been more willing to hold Chinese goods up in transit. Surprisingly, amidst all the talk of tariffs and trade wars, this is an older issue, having to do with CBP’s enforcement of the ‘Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’. The legislation tries to leverage one of the few pressure points the U.S. government has with China, selectively barring Xinjiang products wherever they believe Uyghur labor was coerced into its creation. Enforcement seems kind of hodgepodge, being kicked into gear since the fall of last year, but it has led to some of DJI’s bestsellers being a little scarce on the shelf.

Of course, the wider panic about tariffs or banned drones has probably made it even tougher to find the latest Mavic, but for now, those interested in snagging one at least have a shot at getting lucky. If the U.S. does get the Neo 2, customers will enjoy a nice spec bump over the first-gen model, with a modest (10%, according to rumor) battery increase. So far, that’s the only real hard number being thrown around, along with a redesigned form factor that’s lighter than the Neo 1. It’s possible there will be some other improvements to the cameras and audio, given DJI’s headway on those fronts in its other products. DJI’s got a solid hit with the DJI Mic series, selling out all over thanks to a bevy of positive creator press among the young crowd. It’s a good time for them to diversify outside of UAVs, and they’ve been quick about embracing the wider array of media tools. All that remains is a little time to see how everything shakes out. But for now, anyone eyeing a DJI Neo might want to wait a few weeks before putting in the order.

FMI: www.dji.com