US Trade Commission investigating Joby Aviation for possible import violations

Joby Aviation’s trade practices are the subject of a US government investigation after competitor Archer Aviation filed a complaint.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has opened an investigation into whether air taxi developer Joby Aviation violated import law, a move coming in response to a complaint filed by Joby competitor Archer Aviation.

Archer filed its complaint with the agency on 10 March, alleging that Joby, in importing aircraft components, violated competition-related provisions in the US Tariff Act of 1930.

The complaint alleges that the violations relate to the importation and sale of “certain electric aircraft, power systems for electric aircraft, and components thereof”, the ITC said when disclosing the investigation on 9 April.

Archer similarly accused Joby last month of violating the Tariff Act as part of an ongoing legal battle between the California-based start-ups playing out in a US federal court.

“Joby is confident in the strength of its intellectual property position and intends to vigorously defend itself,” Joby says of the ITC investigation. “Archer’s ITC complaint is an attempt to distract from the serious allegations of trade secret theft in the case Joby filed against Archer in November. We are reviewing the allegations carefully and will address them with the seriousness they warrant through the appropriate legal process.”

The ITC says it aims to complete its investigation within 45 days and that an administrative law judge will make an initial determination into whether Joby violated the Tariff Act. That decision can be reviewed by the ITC’s broader commission.

The relevant provisions in the Tariff Act prohibit anticompetitive import practices.

The investigation comes alongside the court battle.

Joby in November 2025 sued Archer, alleging that it and one of its employees stole trade secrets about “Joby’s aircraft and operations, business and regulatory strategy, infrastructure strategy and site analysis for potential vertiports and airport access”.

Archer hit back last month, countersuing on allegations that Joby committed fraud by concealing business ties to China and the Chinese government while securing US contracts.

It accused Joby of “misclassified” imported Chinese goods on shipping records, hiding “Chinese components” and avoiding import tariffs.

“Joby has falsely presented itself as a domestically rooted, American-made, fully vertically integrated aviation company while covertly relying on its Chinese manufacturing subsidiary, sourcing critical components from Chinese suppliers,” Archer said in court papers.

Last month, Joby’s attorney dismissed the allegations as “nonsense”. The company has since asked the judge to toss the claim.

The ITC investigation is the latest development in a case involving two of the USA’s best-known start-up developers of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

The companies are racing to achieve certification for their designs – and eager to keep investors optimistic about the projects, which are immensely expensive, face regulatory and technical uncertainty and are based on unproven demand assumptions.