China is restricting imports and exports for 11 U.S. defense manufacturers and contractors, part of retaliatory actions following President Donald Trump’s new reciprocal tariffs imposed earlier this week.
The move is one of several actions China has announced since Wednesday, including a 34% tariff on imported goods originating from the U.S. set to begin April 10.
China’s Ministry of Commerce on Friday placed 11 companies that manufacture drones, aircraft, technology and weapons systems on its "unreliable entity list", effectively blacklisting them from doing business in the country. According to the announcement, the companies were placed on the list in an effort to “safeguard national sovereignty, security and developmental interests.”
Inclusion on the list will restrict or prohibit the 11 companies from engaging in China-related import or export activities as well as making new investments in the country. The companies include:
- Skydio
- Brinc Drones
- Red Six Solutions
- Synexxus
- Firestorm Labs
- Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems
- HavocAI
- Neros Technologies
- Domo Tactical Communications
- Rapid Flight
- Insitu
Insitu is a Boeing subsidiary under its defense segment. The aircraft maker is looking to divest the drone company to interested private equity firms, Bloomberg reported in February. Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a January earnings call that the plane manufacturer is working on streamlining its portfolio and will divest from entities not “core” to the company.
Additionally, China’s government announced it was investigating DuPont de Nemours’ China’s division for allegedly violating the country’s anti-monopoly law. The chemical maker has sites in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Shunde and Tianjin, according to its website.
DuPont said in a securities filing Friday that it was aware of the Chinese government’s investigation into its Tyvek brand business.
“DuPont takes this matter very seriously and is cooperating as appropriate with authorities,” the company said in the filing.
In October 2024, the chemical maker filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission against two China-based companies and their affiliates in an effort to block the import of products that infringe on DuPont’s intellectual property related to its Tyvek brand.
Furthermore, China’s government announced it was also imposing export controls on several critical minerals such as aluminum, copper and nickel. The minerals are used for batteries and semiconductors to power weapon systems and artificial intelligence. Now, China-based entities will have to apply for an export license with China’s commerce department to ship the minerals overseas.
Skydio has faced similar restrictions before. In October 2024, the People’s Republic of China sanctioned the drone manufacturer, along with Edge Autonomy Operations and Huntington Ingalls Industries for selling or supplying military weapons and systems to Taiwan.
The sanctions forced Skydio to limit its battery supply to one unit per drone for customers, CEO Adam Bry wrote in a blog post last year. The company’s only customer in Taiwan at the time was the National Fire Agency.
