Sen. Rick Scott Introduces Drones for America Act to Ban Chinese-Made Drones & Components; Support U.S. Drone Manufacturing

Sen. Rick Scott Introduces Drones for America Act to Ban Chinese-Made Drones & Components; Support U.S. Drone Manufacturing
June 25, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C.
– Today, Senator Rick Scott announced the introduction of the
Drones for America Act
to build on his efforts to ban Chinese-made drones and components in the United States, which pose a severe national security risk, and strengthen American production. This legislation will implement a ban on Chinese-manufactured drone systems by January 1, 2028 and Chinese-manufactured components by January 1, 2031, and implement a gradually-increasing tariff on these items until full bans are in effect to phase them out of the market. Tariff revenue will fund a grant program, established by the
Drones for America Act,
to support the procurement and development of U.S.-manufactured drones and components for first responders, law enforcement, farmers, ranchers, and others.
Senator Scott successfully passed his
American Security Drone Act
as part of the
FY24 NDAA
and built on this effort by successfully fighting for the inclusion of provisions of his
Countering CCP Drones Act
to be included in the
FY25 NDAA.
His new bill, the
Drones for America Act
, builds on his work to phase out Chinese drones’ presence in the United States and to support American manufacturers in the industry.
Senator Rick Scott
said, “For years now, I have been working to stop Communist China from pushing drones and other items into U.S. markets for use by our military and everyday Americans because of their clear national security risk. Communist China is our adversary, willing to use every tool at their disposal to destroy us, and they have been using technology like drones to spy on our citizens, our lands, our military, and our government. As we work to build American manufacturing and stop our reliance on our adversaries, my new bill, the
Drones for America Act
, will work to phase Chinese-made drones and components out of the market and give domestic industries the opportunity to compete and thrive. This is a critical bill to protect our national security and American families, and stop fueling Communist China’s ambitions for global domination.”
Michael Robbins,
President and CEO of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI),
said, “The
Drones for America Act
represents a pragmatic approach to strengthening U.S. leadership in drone manufacturing and reducing dependence on adversarial suppliers. By setting thoughtful guardrails around procurement, this legislation supports public safety agencies, farmers, and infrastructure operators as they transition to trusted domestic and ally-sourced platforms, while also helping component suppliers ramp up manufacturing through direct grants and increased demand. Reducing adversary dependence is a necessary step to reinforce our domestic industrial base, enhance national security, and ensure that operators have access to secure and reliable drones and components.”
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https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2025/6/sen-rick-scott-introduces-drones-for-america-act-to-ban-chinese-made-drones-components-support-u-s-drone-manufacturing