Trump-Appointed FCC Chair To Europe: If You're Worried About Elon Musk's Starlink After The Ukraine Threat, 'Just Wait For The CCP's Version…'

A top Donald Trump official has urged European allies to back Starlink, a subsidiary of Elon Musk's SpaceX and U.S. tech over China.

What Happened: Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr told the Financial Times that European hesitation over Starlink service is misplaced.

His comments follow concerns raised after Washington threatened to shut off Starlink service in Ukraine. "If you're concerned about Starlink, just wait for the CCP's version, then you'll be really worried," Carr said.

Carr has been a strong supporter of Musk's Starlink. He staunchly opposed the FCC's decision not to offer nearly $900 million in subsidies to Starlink.

The FCC chair criticized what he described as European "protectionism" and an "anti-American" bias, especially in the regulatory treatment of U.S. companies. He added that Europe needs to choose sides: "It's sort of time for choosing."

U.K.-based telecom firms BT and Virgin Media O2 are currently trialing Starlink's tech, though neither has entered a formal agreement.

Carr also warned that European suppliers like Nokia Corporation NOK and Ericsson ERIC may face Trump-era tariffs unless they expand U.S.-based manufacturing.

Nokia previously said that it sees the U.S. as its "second home," with major manufacturing and R&D already based in the country. Ericsson already has a factory in Texas and may expand further, depending on tariffs.

Why It's Important: Last week, reports emerged that the EU and China had agreed to explore setting minimum prices for Chinese-made electric vehicles. The talks come against the backdrop of rising global trade tensions following Trump's sweeping new tariffs.

Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO reportedly made a direct appeal to Trump, urging him to reverse the tariffs and instead support the creation of a "free trade zone" between Europe and the U.S.

However, despite Musk's substantial political donations to Republicans and his advisory relationship with Trump, his efforts have so far been unsuccessful.

Earlier, it was also reported that the EU is considering implementing taxes on major U.S. tech firms such as Meta Platforms, Inc. META and Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL Google if current tariff discussions with the Trump administration do not lead to a resolution.

Photo Courtesy: Mark Van Scyoc on Shutterstock.com

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