BARCELONA — Washington will retaliate if Europe imposes measures that favor its own satellite companies over American ones, the head of the United States’ communications regulator Brendan Carr told POLITICO.

He was responding to the EU’s push to promote homegrown firms over foreign competitors in a series of laws covering defense procurement, space technology, digital supply chains and green tech. Carr joins a growing chorus of U.S. officials railing against the plans in recent weeks, including the U.S.’s EU and NATO ambassadors Andrew Puzder and Matthew Whitaker.

The U.S. will not hesitate to push European satellite firms out of the American market if it finds that Europe is doing the same, the Federal Communications Commission chairman warned EU officials.

“We just want to make sure that every satellite operator gets a fair shake in Europe,” Carr said in an interview on Tuesday at a major telecom conference in Barcelona. “If Europe wants to go in a different direction, there are European satellite operators that do business in America and we’ll mirror the regulatory approach that Europe wants to take.

“Europe really needs growth, Europe needs security. I think for Europe to achieve its goals on growth and security, it’s important to be a good partner of U.S.-based businesses,” he said.

Carr was targeting the EU’s proposed Space Act, which would force companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Amazon’s Leo and European satellite company Eutelsat to curb space debris and pollution, and tighten safety and cybersecurity protections. The draft law would also require U.S. firms to appoint a legal representative inside the EU.

The U.S. administration has criticized the draft rules before, claiming they would place “unacceptable regulatory burdens” on American champions. Carr’s Federal Communications Commission, which regulates digital and media infrastructure, issued a fresh call on Monday for industry feedback on the issue.

The European Commission’s top tech and security official, Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen, responded to Carr’s criticism on Tuesday, saying the EU proposals sought to make sure satellite companies can compete fairly.

“We see that we have been losing our competitiveness during the last decades when it comes to space, and now we are very much also building our own capacity,” Virkkunen told POLITICO in Barcelona, stressing that “what we want to address is very much the level playing field.”

The EU is increasingly looking to reduce its reliance on American technology. The European Commission is preparing a package of measures to strengthen “tech sovereignty” in AI, cloud technology, microchips and data centers, which is due to be published on April 15.

The EU executive is also set to present a proposal for an Industrial Accelerator Act this week, which would introduce a “Made in EU” preference in public procurement. However, its scope will not include key technologies like chips, AI or space tech, a draft seen by POLITICO last week showed.

Carr emphasized the need for “reciprocity” between the EU and U.S. and called out the rise of “protectionist policies” in Europe that are now “creeping into other sectors of the economy.”

“America is ultimately going to lead the world in AI, and 5G and 6G” but “we don’t have to do it alone,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Defense threatened earlier this month to retaliate against European countries if the EU favors domestic weapons-makers in a drive to rearm the continent.