U.S. Appeals Court Orders Retrial in DJI's "Chinese Military Company" Listing Case

On August 14, Eastern Time, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in DJI’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense, ordering the district court to rehear the case concerning DJI’s inclusion on the Department of Defense’s “Chinese Military Companies” (CMC) list. The appellate court noted that the Department of Defense failed to provide specific reasons in its publicly released report explaining how DJI contributes to China’s defense industrial base. It further found that the district court had upheld DJI’s designation based solely on arguments presented in litigation and other portions of the report, without reviewing the classified materials submitted by the Department of Defense. The appeals court held that the lower court did not adequately consider evidence and arguments submitted by DJI—including that DJI has no direct ties to the Chinese military and that its products are not used for military purposes—and instructed the district court, on remand, to review the classified materials and reassess whether DJI should remain on the CMC list.