WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and U.S. Appropriations Committee, on Friday made the following statement after it was reported that the Trump administration plans to issue an executive order that would ban the federal government from using Chinese-made drones:

“If these reports are true, this is a big win for our national security and American manufacturers. I've been pressing the Trump administration to ban the federal government from using Chinese-made drones for two years, and finally, they are taking action," said Murphy. 

Murphy continued: "The administration knew that China and other adversaries can use the commercial drones to gather sensitive information on United States. It made no sense to reward our adversaries while denying valuable contracts to our manufacturers here at home. I'm glad the White House is finally heeding our call." 

In 2018, after hearing concerns from a Connecticut-based drone manufacturer, Murphy called on then U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis to ban Chinese-made commercial drones at the DoD and instead support U.S. drone manufacturers. DoD followed Murphy’s call and halted the purchase of all small commercial drones, including those made by Da Jiang Innovations. Additionally, Murphy secured more transparency and critical protections for American companies against foreign-made drones in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2019, which partially funds the Department of Interior. This was critical for national security and a “Buy American” victory for Connecticut-based companies that have to compete with artificially priced Chinese-made drones. Murphy’s provision banning the use of Chinese-made drones was included in the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act. Murphy and U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) also introduced the American Security Drone Act of 2019 prohibiting the U.S. government from purchasing drones manufactured in countries identified as national security threats like Iran and China.

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