Over the past three years, Mike Yoder made a name for himself in rural Ohio selling a spray-drone trailer kit that saves farmers money and weeks of labor by dropping seeds, fertilizer and fungicide from the sky.

过去的三年里，迈克·约德在俄亥俄州的农村地区靠销售一种无人机喷雾附件闯出了些名声，该套件从空中撒播种子、肥料和杀菌剂，能为农民节省资金和数周的劳动时间。

But Yoder’s company, nuWay Ag, has been struggling since last winter, when it became far more difficult to import drones made by a Chinese company, DJI, into the United States.

但自去年冬天以来，约德的公司nuWay Ag一直在苦苦挣扎，当时中国大疆公司制造的无人机进口到美国变得困难了许多。

DJI, the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial and industrial drones, is on the verge of being banned in the United States by federal lawmakers who accuse the company of a variety of infractions, including using forced labor, benefiting from unfair subsidies and being a cybersecurity threat.

全球最大的商用和工业无人机制造商大疆正面临联邦议员的禁令威胁，他们指控该公司存在各种违规行为，包括使用强迫劳工、享受不公平补贴，以及构成网络安全威胁。

Yoder recently had to let go of two of his 22 employees because he couldn’t get enough DJI drones to sell to make payroll.

由于无法获得足够的大疆无人机用于销售，约德尔难以支付工资，最近不得不裁掉22名员工中的两人。

The looming ban is part of a push to decouple the U.S. economy from China’s. It comes as artificial intelligence is transforming what drones can do and as American manufacturers struggle to get a share of a growing market. DJI commands roughly 75% of the consumer market globally and is known for making drones that buyers say are affordable, easy to use and full of bleeding-edge features that save time and money.

即将到来的禁令是推动美国经济与中国经济脱钩的举措之一。当前人工智能正在改变无人机的功能，美国制造商却难以在不断扩大的市场中分得一杯羹。大疆控制着全球约75%的消费市场，其产品以价格亲民、易于使用、配备了节省时间和金钱的尖端功能而闻名。

Construction companies use specialized DJI drones to monitor the progress of skyscrapers and submit automatic reports. Mining companies use DJI drones to calculate the output of mines. Land surveyors use drones with high-quality lenses to create detailed maps of terrain. Police officers use thermal drones to find lost children and fleeing suspects.

建筑公司使用专门的大疆无人机来监控摩天大楼的施工进度，自动生成、提交报告。矿业公司使用大疆无人机计算矿山产量。土地测量员使用带有高精度镜头的无人机来绘制详细的地形地图。警察使用热成像无人机寻找走失的儿童和逃跑的嫌疑人。

But the company has been caught in the geopolitical riptide of U.S.-Chinese relations.

但该公司已经陷入美中关系的地缘政治激流。

大疆无人机深受农民青睐，它能从空中撒播种子、肥料和杀虫剂，从而节省数周的劳动力。

Customs and Border Protection began seizing shipments of DJI drones in October, slowing imports to companies like Yoder’s. Then, in December, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., a close ally of President Donald Trump, placed a provision into a defense bill that would ban the sale of new drones by DJI and Autel Robotics, another Chinese company, this December.

去年10月，美国海关和边境保护局开始扣押大疆无人机，导致约德的公司这样的企业进口受阻。去年12月，特朗普总统的亲密盟友、纽约州共和党众议员埃莉斯·斯特凡尼克在一项国防法案中加入条款，拟于今年12月起禁止销售大疆及另一家中国企业道通智能的新款无人机。

Sales could continue if a national security agency determines that the foreign drones do not “pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.” But the bill did not state which agency is responsible for making that assessment, and so far, none have publicly taken on the task. Stefanik joined a lawmaker letter to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in July urging an “expedited national security review,” but there is no sign of one, according to Adam Welsh, DJI’s head of global policy.

如果国家安全机构确定外国无人机不会“对美国国家安全构成不可接受的风险”，则可以继续销售。但该法案没有说明由哪个机构负责进行评估，到目前为止，尚无任何部门公开承担这项任务。大疆全球政策主管亚当·威尔士称，斯特凡尼克等议员在7月联名致信国家情报总监办公室，敦促“加快国家安全审查”，但目前仍无任何启动迹象。

He said DJI had written to the Department of Defense and other national security agencies requesting a thorough examination of the drones to prove that they cannot transmit information to Chinese entities, as Stefanik has claimed.

他说，大疆已致信国防部和其他国家安全机构，要求对它的无人机进行全面检查，以证明其不存在如斯特凡尼克所声称的向中国实体传输信息的可能性。

“If we are given a fair process, we believe our products will pass,” Welsh said. He said DJI, which is suing the Department of Defense for placing it on a blacklist, remained open to discussions with the Trump administration about its concerns. DJI officials have even weighed the possibility of manufacturing drones on American soil, he said.

“如果得到公正的评估流程，我们相信我们的产品可以通过，”威尔士说。他同时表示，大疆虽然正就国防部将其列入黑名单一事发起诉讼，但仍愿意与特朗普政府就其担忧进行讨论。他说，大疆管理层甚至考虑过在美国本土制造无人机的可能性。

“If the U.S. government wants to build an industry, they could use us to build that industry,” he added.

“如果美国政府希望建立一个产业，他们可以利用我们来实现这个目标，”他还说。

But Welsh acknowledged that technical fixes or new investments were unlikely to placate lawmakers who seem intent on pushing DJI out of the country. “It would not destroy us to lose the U.S. market,” he said, “but it would certainty limit our growth.”

但威尔士承认，技术修复或新投资恐怕难以安抚那些似乎有意将大疆赶出美国市场的立法者。“失去美国市场不会毁了我们，”他说。“但肯定会限制我们的成长空间。”

A spokesperson for Stefanik said that DJI presented “unacceptable economic and national security risks” and that Stefanik would continue to work with the Trump administration “to ensure Chinese drones are banned from American skies.”

斯特凡尼克的一位发言人表示，大疆带来了“不可接受的经济和国家安全风险”，斯特凡尼克将继续与特朗普政府合作，“确保中国无人机从美国领空消失”。

U.S. drone manufacturers are eagerly awaiting DJI’s exit, which they say would make room for American companies to play a bigger role in an increasingly vital industry. But few U.S. drone makers sell the kinds of consumer and industrial products that DJI makes, preferring to focus on the higher-margin business of supplying the military and public safety agencies.

美国无人机制造商正急切地等待大疆的退出，他们表示，这将为美国企业在这个日益重要的行业中发挥更大作用腾出空间。但很少有美国无人机制造商生产大疆的那种消费级和工业级产品，它们更倾向于专注利润更高的军用和公共安全机构业务。

There are 433,407 commercial drones registered in the United States, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, performing tasks such as utility line inspection, movie filming and land surveying. The vast majority are DJI drones, said Vic Moss, the volunteer director of the Drone Advocacy Alliance, a group that represents drone pilots who oppose a DJI ban.

根据美国联邦航空管理局的数据，在美国注册的商用无人机有433407架，用于执行电力线路巡查、影视拍摄和土地勘测等任务。无人机倡导联盟的志愿者主管维克·莫斯指出，绝大多数无人机都是大疆的产品。该联盟代表反对大疆禁令的无人机操作者群体。

在犹他州韦伯县的搜救训练中，一架大疆无人机在空中运送物资。

Moss earns a living as an aerial photographer and videographer based in Colorado, and also makes maps for surveying companies. He has invested tens of thousands of dollars in DJI drones that can change lenses and apertures in midair, he said, and is now having difficulty getting them serviced.

莫斯在科罗拉多州从事航拍和摄像工作，同时为测绘公司制作地图。他说，他已经投资数万美元购置大疆无人机，这些设备可以在空中更换镜头和光圈，但现在面临维修困难。

“Nobody seems to be saying: ‘What are we doing to this industry? To the people who fly or sell drones for a living?’” Moss said. DJI sells an industrial-grade mapping drone for about $6,500, while American companies can charge as much as $35,000 for a similar product, he said.

“似乎没有人问：‘我们对这个行业做了什么？对那些以无人机飞行或出售无人机为生的人造成了什么影响？’”莫斯说。他表示，大疆的工业级测绘无人机售价约为6500美元，而美国公司生产的同类产品售价可能高达3.5万美元。

Even if a national security audit is conducted and DJI escapes a ban in December, the Trump administration has other tools at its disposal to limit the use of the company’s equipment. In July, the Commerce Department opened an investigation into whether imported drones threatened national security, paving the way for higher tariffs.

即使通过国家安全审查使得大疆免遭12月的禁令，特朗普政府仍握有其他手段来限制该公司的产品。今年7月，美国商务部对进口无人机是否威胁国家安全展开调查，为提高关税铺平了道路。

If the ban goes through, it will prevent only new DJI products from receiving FCC licenses to fly. It would not immediately affect the hundreds of thousands of DJI drones that already have permission to fly.

如果禁令生效，它将阻止新的大疆产品获得联邦通信委员会的飞行许可证，但不会立即影响到已经获得飞行许可的数十万大疆无人机。

But over time, DJI products would fade away in the United States, as customers would not be able to repair or replace them. American drone manufacturers would use that time to catch up with DJI’s technology and gain a foothold in the global market, said Michael Robbins, CEO of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International.

但是随着时间的推移，由于客户无法维修或更换设备，大疆产品将在美国逐渐消失。国际无人驾驶系统协会首席执行官迈克尔·罗宾斯表示，美国无人机制造商将利用这段时间赶上大疆的技术，并在全球市场上站稳脚跟。

“If you remove the juggernaut of DJI from the marketplace, you are going to see a lot of American companies thrive,” he said.

他说：“如果把大疆这个市场巨头排除在外，众多美国企业将迎来发展良机。”

Some prominent people in Trump’s orbit stand to gain from such a result. Donald Trump Jr. sits on the board of Unusual Machines, a Florida company that supplies parts to the U.S. drone industry.

特朗普身边的一些显要人物将从这样的结果中获益。小唐纳德·特朗普是Unusual Machines公司的董事会成员，这家佛罗里达州公司为美国无人机行业提供零部件。

Joe Bartlett, deputy undersecretary of the Bureau of Industry and Security, the Commerce Department agency that is conducting the drone investigation, previously served as director of federal policy for Skydio, a top U.S. drone manufacturer that supports the DJI ban. Bartlett also worked as Stefanik’s national security adviser.

商务部工业与安全局负责无人机调查，该局副局长乔·巴特利特此前曾任支持大疆禁令的美国顶级无人机制造商Skydio的联邦政策主管。巴特利特还担任过斯特凡尼克的国家安全顾问。

American businesses that rely on DJI’s technology expressed anger in public comments submitted over the summer in response to the Commerce Department investigation.

今年夏季，在针对商务部调查提交的公众意见书中，依赖大疆技术的美国企业纷纷表示强烈不满。

“By rejecting affordable, capable foreign drones without viable domestic alternatives, the U.S. is forcing industries like agriculture, energy and public safety to either operate with outdated tech or face soaring costs,” wrote Ryan Latourette, a drone pilot in Michigan. He called the efforts against DJI “techno-paranoia” and “economic self sabotage.”

密歇根州的无人机操作员瑞安·拉图雷特写道：“在缺乏可行国产替代品的情况下，美国拒绝价格合理、性能良好的外国无人机，这迫使农业、能源和公共安全等行业要么使用过时的技术，要么面临成本飙升的问题。”他表示，针对大疆的行动是“技术上的偏执多疑”和“经济自残行为”。