Elon Musk’s SpaceX urges the US govt. to take action on Starlink’s trade barriers

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is pushing the US to address the trade barriers faced by Starlink’s satellite communication service in foreign countries. The company argues that its competitors from foreign countries have no such import restrictions in the United States. 

According to a Reuters report, SpaceX sent a letter to the US Trade Representative Office on Tuesday. The letter described the requirements imposed on the company as a “protectionist non-tariff trade barrier.”

SpaceX must pay additional costs to foreign governments for Starlink to access their spectrum. These costs include imports of Starlink equipment and other regulatory charges. Such payments lead to “artificially” increased international operating expenses.

Starlink operates in over 120 countries. However, to run its service, it must coordinate spectrum sharing with local satellite operators in some countries.

Matt Dunn, SpaceX’s senior director for global government affairs, stated in the letter that “foreign operators have used these anti-competitive policies to block or slow SpaceX from providing a better quality and lower cost service to customers in those countries.”

SpaceX has raised these concerns during the rising tensions regarding trade limitations for US companies.

Tesla also sent a letter urging the US to consider the downstream impacts of trade restrictions

SpaceX’s letter is among the 700 sent to the trade representative office in response to his invitation to take a public stance about “unfair trade practices by other countries.”  These responses are available on a public portal.

In another letter sent to Jamieson Greer, Musk’s Tesla requested that USTR “consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices.” Miriam Eqab, Tesla’s associate general counsel, sent this letter.

The two letters by Elon Musk’s companies arrive as he continues overseeing his Department of Government Efficiency, which is currently focused on reducing the federal government’s spending and staff count.