WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The notice arrived not as a warning but as a fact: President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday invoking the national security powers of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on imported unmanned aircraft systems and their components, restructuring in a single executive action a market in which China has held commanding dominance for nearly a decade.

The tariffs take effect on September 3, 2026, with one tranche delayed to February 9, 2027. Their structure is calibrated rather than blunt. Drones weighing more than 25 kilograms at maximum takeoff weight, a category that includes the commercial and enterprise platforms used by law enforcement, utilities, precision ...