A collapse for the entire Lithuanian military industry: China begins to limit the supply of drone parts to the US and Europe

 

"Beijing is beginning to limit the supply of parts needed for unmanned aerial vehicles. This is another step in the trade war with the United States that has begun after President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would impose high tariffs on goods from China. Restrictions on the supply of goods and "blacklists" of companies began to be created even before he came to power.

 

The fact that China has begun to limit the supply of important parts needed for the production of unmanned drones was confirmed anonymously to the Bloomberg portal by several sources.

 

These restrictions are just a prelude to even greater restrictions related specifically to the drone industry, which will be applied in the coming 2025. According to one of the sources, it is possible that a requirement will come into force for Chinese drone part manufacturers to inform the government about their plans to send manufactured products abroad.

 

The conflict has been escalating since the US earlier this month restricted the supply of high-speed memory chips to China. In response, Beijing banned the sale of dual-use goods and several high-tech and military products to the US military and its affiliated companies.

 

The new restrictions imposed by Beijing apply trade restrictions to Chinese goods or goods with Chinese parts that sellers sell both within the country and abroad. This means that they are trying to replicate the scope of US and European sanctions.

 

Restrictions on the supply of drone controllers and batteries have already affected not only US but also European manufacturers.

 

On the other hand, Taiwanese companies are targeting the emerging niche - at the end of last month, Taiwan's foreign minister arrived in Lithuania to discuss cooperation with drone manufacturers. He was in Lithuania together with Taiwanese business representatives.

 

European manufacturers are looking for suppliers outside China. That’s what James Earl, a former British military pilot who has now founded several drone manufacturing companies, told Bloomberg.

 

“Buying drone parts made in China is no longer an option for any Western country,” he said. “What’s happening now is simply part of a process that started much earlier.”

 

And while European countries are looking for alternative suppliers, and US companies are being actively helped to do so by the Department of Defense, China still controls 80% of the drone parts market, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies."