For over 50 years, but plied most frequently during the past decade, Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. §§ 2411-2420) has been employed to protect US rights under trade agreements and to help dismantle trade barriers impeding US commerce in markets around the globe. Markets today are also extraterrestrial. The emerging earth-to-space and space-to-space economies could generate trillions of dollars in the coming years. US space companies now operate at the vanguard, but the contest to commercialize space will be intense.
Existing or emerging spacefaring nations may introduce measures that discriminate, have disproportionate impact, or operate to restrict market access, increase compliance costs, or impose additional administrative burdens on foreign satellite operators and technology companies. If different registration regimes, administrative requirements, or other regulatory impediments obstruct new entrants seeking to establish or operate in a particular market, Section 301 may be an option to consider.
See the full article authored by Frank J. Schweitzer, "US Space Commerce, Section 301, and Market Access to the Final Frontier," published in the November-December 2026 issue of The Global Trade Law Journal.
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