The Washington Post revealed on its 7 May 2025 report that Starlink, the satellite internet service provider under SpaceX, is benefitting from the tariff policies of the Trump administration through a combination of diplomatic leverage and strategic positioning. This is based on internal messages between U.S. embassies and the State Government obtained by The Post.
Jeff Stein and Hannah Natanson of The Post cited the South African country of Lesotho as an example of how the U.S. government pushes countries facing tariffs to approve Starlink. The report also added that India has reached deals in March and other countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam have provided partial accommodation.
Specifically, after the U.S. imposed 50 percent tariffs on goods from Lesotho, the country granted Starlink a 10-year license to operate in hopes that this would demonstrate goodwill and aid in trade negotiations. The market entry of Starlink in other countries like India and Vietnam coincided with or followed trade discussions emerging after the wide Trump tariff rollout.
It is worth mentioning that the leaked internal government messages showed how U.S. embassies and the State Department mentioned requests to eliminate hurdles for satellite companies. Starlink has often been mentioned in these cables. However, to set the record straight, these messages did not outright demand countries to allow Starlink entry in exchange for lower tariffs.
The fact remains that Starlink is benefitting from Trump tariffs. Some have raised concerns over a conflict of interests considering that Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, was a significant donor to the Trump campaign in 2024 and currently serves as an adviser to Donald Trump. Leveraging U.S. policies to benefit an enterprise blurs the lines between public service and private gain.
An opinion article by Matt Bai of The Post, which was earlier published on 30 April 2025, stressed that it is Musk and Starlink who are winning the trade war. The U.S. government might not be too blatant with its intent but it is worth mentioning that Starlink had experienced regulatory hurdles in countries like India and Bangladesh. Both have sizeable exports to the U.S.
Lisa Gilbert, the co-president of the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, said that the conflict of interest is “glaring” and the “pressure to preference a Musk-owned company is disgusting.” She added that the government and its trade policies should be used for the benefit of the American public and should be abused for tech companies to profit.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Bai, M. 30 April 2025. “Someone’s Actually Winning the Trade War. It’s Elon Musk and Starlink.” The Washington Post. Available online
- Public Citizen. 7 May 2025. “Starlink Profiteering is ‘Glaring Conflict of Interest’ by Trump Admin.” Public Citizen. Available online
- Stein, J. and Natanson, H. 7 May 2025. “U.S. Pushes Nations Facing Tariffs to Approve Musk’s Starlink, Cables Show.” The Washington Post. Available online