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State Department pressed tariff-threatened nations to approve Musk's Starlink, cables showed

Internal U.S. embassy and State Department cables obtained by The Washington Post and reported on May 7, 2025, showed officials repeatedly pressing foreign governments facing Trump administration tariff threats to approve regulatory access for Starlink, the satellite company owned by White House adviser Elon Musk. Lesotho received a 10-year Starlink license two weeks after Trump announced 50% tariffs, and India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo saw similar fast-tracked approvals. Eleven U.S. senators subsequently requested a federal ethics investigation into the arrangement.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

On May 7, 2025, The Washington Post reported on internal U.S. embassy and State Department cables showing that American officials repeatedly urged foreign governments facing Trump administration tariff threats to approve regulatory access for Starlink, the satellite-internet company owned by Elon Musk, then a senior White House adviser and head of the Department of Government Efficiency. The cables often named Starlink specifically. Lesotho received a 10-year Starlink license two weeks after Trump announced 50% tariffs on the country, with an internal State Department memo noting that Lesotho "hopes that licensing Starlink demonstrates goodwill" in trade talks. Officials fast-tracked similar approvals in India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The pattern drew scrutiny because Musk simultaneously held a federal advisory role and owned the company benefiting from the approvals. Lawmakers pointed to a February 2025 White House meeting at which Musk allegedly told Bangladeshi officials that the country would not receive favorable trade terms unless Starlink was permitted market entry; Bangladesh approved Starlink in April 2025. The original reporting noted that the documents did not show the White House explicitly trading tariff relief for Starlink approvals, and that U.S. advocacy for American firms abroad predates the Trump administration.

Updates

2025-05-14 — Eleven senators requested a federal ethics investigation [4]

On May 14, 2025, eleven U.S. senators sent a letter to the Attorney General, the Office of Government Ethics, the White House ethics official, and the State Department Inspector General requesting an investigation under 5 CFR 2635.702 and 18 U.S.C. 208.

Why we recorded this

Public office must not be used to advance the private business interests of officials or their associates. State Department officials used U.S. leverage in tariff negotiations to press foreign governments into approving market access for Starlink, a company owned by a sitting senior White House adviser, blurring the line between national trade policy and one official's private financial interest. Recording this documents how the machinery of foreign policy can be turned toward self-dealing when officials hold financial stakes in the outcomes they help steer.

Sources

  1. Nations facing tariffs pushed to approve Elon Musk's Starlink, cables show — The Washington Post investigative accessed July 9, 2026
  2. US is pushing Starlink on nations facing tariffs as Musk stands to benefit from trade deals: report — The Independent secondary accessed July 9, 2026
  3. Senators Call for Ethics Inquiry into Trump Administration Benefitting Elon Musk and Starlink in Trade Negotiations — Via Satellite secondary accessed July 9, 2026
  4. Letter to ethics investigators on Starlink and trade negotiations (May 14, 2025) — U.S. Senate (Sen. Elizabeth Warren et al.) primary accessed July 9, 2026

See also