The Trump administration has granted SpaceX's Starlink an exemption from a Federal Communications Commission ban on foreign-made routers, allowing the company to continue selling its satellite internet routers despite some being manufactured outside the United States. The exemption, approved by the Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense), matters because it clears the way for SpaceX to keep bringing new router models to market, while other firms—particularly those with Chinese ties—face a tougher path to similar approval.

The FCC's updated Covered List bars consumer routers made even partly outside the US unless granted a specific exemption, and SpaceX's approval runs until 1 February 2028. Although some Starlink routers are stamped "Made in the USA" from a Texas factory, others are produced in Vietnam. SpaceX joins Netgear, which received the first exemption on 14 April, and Amazon, whose Eero and Leo satellite routers were also cleared; TP-Link, founded in China but now US-headquartered, has yet to secure one. The rule does not affect routers already approved before the change, and drone makers face a comparable process, with Chinese firm DJI having already sued the FCC over its ban.