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Hold on - if I'm not mistaken, this is even sillier than the headline sounds. The primary complaint isn't even that other countries are imposing tariffs on Star
by duskwuff 2y ago
Hold on - if I'm not mistaken, this is even sillier than the headline sounds. The primary complaint isn't even that other countries are imposing tariffs on Starlink; it's that other countries are requiring Starlink to comply with local laws, and SpaceX finds that unbearable.
(And who exactly are they hoping to have tariffs imposed on, anyway? The only other two satellite ISPs in the US - ViaSat and HughesNet - are both US-based.)
- dmoy 2y agoI'm assuming the idea would be for the US to threaten mostly unrelated tariffs on some other country if said country doesn't open up for SpaceX. It's not like the US hasn't strong armed stuff in the past (for oil companies, etc), but this seems a little different.
- SpicyLemonZest 2y agoI don't know about the details of this case (nor particularly trust SpaceX's judgment on it), but local laws as a trade barrier are a real phenomenon. The WTO calls them "technical barriers to trade" (https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_e.htm https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_e.htm).
- fallingknife 2y agoIf the local laws differentiate between foreign and domestic companies, which in this case they do, they are effectively tariffs.
- dzhiurgis 2y agoRemember when Starlink was released and people poured their tears over for Elon not spreading freedom of speech and instead censoring the access for the regime? Funny how times change...