Trump’s chaotic tariffs benefit his best buddy Elon (as predicted)
A series of internal government messages reveal how US embassies and the State Department have pushed governments to clear regulatory barriers for Elon Musk’s Starlink.
In the messages obtained by The Washington Post, Secretary of State Marco Rubio directs US officials to push for permit approvals for the satellite internet service. Governments facing chaotic tariff threats have got the message and are rolling out the red carpet for Musk in the hope of avoiding costly tariffs.
This scandal has drawn widespread attention and condemnation, with dozens of members of Congress and senators calling for investigations into Musk and the government agencies that may have pressured countries on his behalf.
While this corruption is shocking, it’s hardly surprising.
Before the “liberation day” tariff announcement, Public Citizen issued a report documenting how the tariff process in President Donald Trump’s first term enabled a quid pro quo spoils system that rewarded the rich and well-connected. We warned that Musk’s powerful and ill-defined role in the US government could lead other countries to decide that giving special privileges to Musk’s companies would help them earn brownie points with the Trump administration.
US government’s sales pitch for Starlink
Elon Musk has been pushing for Starlink expansion across the world for years, but some countries have been wary of permitting the service to enter their markets. Experts have raised concerns about threats to “data sovereignty”, a group or individual’s right to control and maintain their own data. To the extent that communications on the Starlink network are routed through the US, they may be accessible to US law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
And it is not unreasonable for countries to consider that access to Starlink services could be weaponised and a nation’s internet access held hostage at the whim of a single man or wayward administration. Alarmingly, claims abound that the US threatened to withdraw Ukrainian access to Starlink if the country did not sign the US-Ukraine minerals agreement (though this has been denied by Musk).
But now, Musk’s proximity to the White House and Trump’s innermost circle has provided him with powerful new leverage to push his businesses on foreign governments: The threat of Trump’s chaotic tariffs. For some countries weighing the pros and cons, the chance that approval for Starlink helps stave off tariffs has changed the equation.
The Washington Post exposé highlighted several diplomatic cables from various embassies commenting on foreign governments’ decision-making on the satellite internet service.
For example, a March cable from the US embassy in Cambodia explains it “has observed the Cambodian government – likely due to concern over the possibility of US tariffs – signal its desire to help balance our trade relationship by promoting the market entry of leading US companies such as Boeing and Starlink”.
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Leaders of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia advised the Ministry of Economy and Finance to take “decisive action in offering concessions to the United States … recommending that Cambodia … expeditiously approve Starlink’s market entry request”.
Cambodia faces a 49 per cent Trump tariff rate
Another cable from April highlighted that Starlink was pushing for a license to operate in Djibouti. State Department staffers noted Starlink’s approval would be an opportunity to open the country’s market and boost “an American company. Embassy officials “will continue to follow up with Starlink in identifying government officials and facilitating discussions”.
Djibouti faces a 10 per cent Trump tariff rate
The pressure is working – at the expense of public interest policies
Rubio “encouraged Vietnam to address trade imbalances” in an early March 2025 phone call with the nation’s Foreign Ministry. Shortly thereafter, the Vietnamese government laid out a battery of appeasements to the Trump administration, including a waiver of domestic partnership requirements, enabling the launch of a five-year pilot program with Starlink.
An unnamed source speaking with Reuters said this could be seen as “an olive branch” to Musk and his company, a “demonstration from the Vietnamese side that they can play the transactional diplomacy game if the Trump administration wants that”.
Vietnam faces a 46 per cent Trump tariff rate
A Bangladeshi representative visited the White House in mid-February to offer concessions to stave off the promised tariffs and was brought to a surprise meeting with Musk. Musk wanted to discuss the ongoing negotiations between Starlink and Bangladesh’s regulatory agency – the implication being that Bangladesh would not get favourable trade terms from the US if Starlink wasn’t permitted.
Early April saw Bangladesh’s Telecommunication Regulatory Commission issue what was described as “the swiftest recommendation” in its history for a Starlink licence. When Trump announced a punishing 37 per cent reciprocal tariff on Bangladesh, the export-dependent country wrote to Trump requesting leniency and detailing the ways in which it was already taking action to benefit US businesses – including its access for Starlink.
Bangladesh faces a 37 per cent Trump tariff rate
Lesotho also granted a licence to Starlink in April, despite local objections to foreign-owned businesses. Local NGOs called the licensing decision “a betrayal – a shameful sellout by a government that appears increasingly willing to place foreign corporate interests above the democratic will and long-term developmental needs of the people of Lesotho”.
An internal State Department memo states, “As the government of Lesotho negotiates a trade deal with the United States, it hopes that licensing Starlink demonstrates goodwill and intent to welcome US businesses”. Subtle.
Lesotho faces a 50 per cent Trump tariff rate
Musk has infamously complained on social media about South Africa’s post-apartheid reparations rules, claiming that Starlink is “not allowed to operate in South Africa simply because [he’s] not black [sic]” – despite having never applied for a licence.
The Washington Post noted that “the story about Bangladesh was making its way around political and business circles in South Africa”, and it’s assumed that approval of a Starlink licence has become “a prerequisite for getting a favourable trade deal.”
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Legislators have introduced a controversial measure to exempt Starlink from the black empowerment law.
South Africa faces a 30 per cent Trump tariff rate
Musk has been looking to break into the Indian market for years – even launching, then retracting, services in 2022 without the necessary licences.
Around the time of the Bangladesh meeting, Musk also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi near the White House. According to India Today, a “key agenda” item was Starlink’s pending approval in India. This month, India dropped two proposed security rules that Starlink had refused during earlier discussions.
India faces a 26 per cent Trump tariff rate
In March 2024, Starlink was prohibited in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, amid concerns from military experts who warned it could be misused by armed insurgent groups including M23.
That ban was recently lifted, and Starlink launched in May 2025. This policy reversal comes at a time of mounting frustrations from Congolese civil society over secretive dealmaking with the United States. The resurgence of rebel group M23 has pushed President Felix Tshisekedi’s government toward a controversial deal that has the private military corporation Blackwater’s Erik Prince at the center. The deal would exchange US security assistance for access to DRC critical minerals, not unlike the recent US-Ukraine minerals deal.
The DRC faces an 11 per cent Trump tariff rate
The list goes on. Mali, Somalia, Namibia, and others are also considering regulatory approval of Starlink and facing varying degrees of resistance from civil society.
Namibia faces a 21 per cent Trump tariff rate, with Mali and Somalia at 10 per cent
The blueprint
Paving the way for Starlink in other countries is just the tip of the iceberg.
Trump and his cronies have made it clear since day one of his 2015 presidential primary campaign that he will bend public policy to benefit himself and his wayward inner circle of yes men. Anything that can limit their personal gain is on the chopping block.
The attacks on other governments’ legitimate domestic policies aren’t just predictable, they’re predicted. In detail. Not just by Trump’s erratic speeches and TruthSocial policy changes, but across nearly 400 pages, readily available to us all at ustr.gov: The 2025 National Trade Estimate Report.
This year’s report targets a litany of public interest laws and policies adopted by countries around the world to regulate the digital ecosystem.
Notably, the 2025 NTE report calls out the satellite licensing and approval processes in Brazil, South Korea, and Malaysia, and points out that some countries impose import restrictions on certain types of internet and telecommunications equipment. Removing these would smooth regulatory hurdles for Starlink in those countries. The NTE report is also chock-full of other privacy, AI accountability, and competition policies that Big Tech companies want to get rid of around the world.
The report was drafted in large part based on comments submitted by corporations in October 2024 under then-president Joe Biden and before the US election.
Given the Trump administration’s brazen willingness to openly push the agenda of his billionaire buddies, we can now expect even more extreme demands from companies like Starlink.
For instance, in a submission to the Trump administration ahead of the “reciprocal tariffs” announcement, SpaceX complained about governments imposing “non-tariff” barriers impeding global roll-out of Starlink, including having to pay governments for access to spectrum – a standard practice in some countries, including the US.
As Trump wields his chaotic tariff threats to extract concessions in dozens of closed-door negotiations, we should not be surprised to see even more Big Tech giveaways and lucrative favours for Musk. It is imperative that Congress demands transparency in these trade talks and holds the Trump administration accountable for such inappropriate coercion.
Sarah Grace works at the American non-profit advocacy group Public Citizen as international campaigns coordinator in the Global Trade Watch division.
