Ontario, a Canadian province, has cancelled its $100-million deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet provider in the wake of the provocation of a tariff war by US president Donald Trump with Canada and Elon Musk’s interference in Canada’s governance and politics.
As per a CBC report, U.S. companies would be banned from procuring contracts. Premier Doug Ford announced the measures last week, warning lawmakers in New York, Michigan, and Minnesota that if the trade war “persists,” Ontario will put a 25 percent surcharge on electricity flowing into the states and potentially cut the flow off entirely.
Ontario supplies roughly 1.5 million customers in the border states with electricity.
On the other hand, Starlink has found its way into India’s telecommunication sector as it signed an agreement with the top two telecom operators in India—Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Ltd, and Sunil Bharti Mittal of Bharti Airtel.
A statement from Jio, a subsidiary of Reliance, read, “Jio and Starlink are expanding horizons, connecting all of India.”
Musk is an important player in the Trump administration, which recently pushed India to reduce its tariff rates. Trump reportedly said, “Modi (Narendra Modi) recently announced the reductions to India’s unfair, very strong tariffs that limit U.S. access to the Indian market. And really, it’s a big problem, I must say.” He added, “The prime minister and I also reached an important agreement on energy that will restore the United States as a leading supplier of oil and gas to India. It will be, hopefully, their number one supplier.”
The deal also sets back Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” mission and its promise to expand the optical fiber network across the country.
