On the weekend, Donald Trump announced on social media that he has instructed U.S. officials to “begin the process” of instituting a 100% tariff on movies produced in “foreign lands.” 

Unsurprisingly, this assault on the cultural sovereignty of other nations sent ripples of uncertainty through the film industry – nowhere more than in the Hollywood itself. Within hours of the announcement, the White House was already telling reporters that “no final decision” had been made on film tariffs. American media are also questioning both the substance and legality of this proposed scheme with at least one outlet reporting that Hollywood is “rattled.” While it’s fair to say significant hurdles still stand in the way of any such measures – including opposition from studios, near certain court challenges and the fact that it remains entirely unclear how a country would go about tariffing intellectual property or what transaction would even be taxed – this announcement is still of deep concern to both the American and global industries, as well as the Guild.

Uncertainty slows decision-making in both the U.S. and the global marketplace. According to figures from the Motion Picture Association, American movies generate a $15.3 billion trade surplus on just $7.3 billion in imports, meaning a whopping 210% net trade balance in favour of this successful American cultural industry. It’s now routine for tentpole, franchise films to generate a large majority of their worldwide box office in the global market with Canada making up 10% of the U.S. “domestic” marketplace in addition to that global gross. In short, the world is now by far the biggest customer for American movies, yet the U.S. government is threatening to throw this lucrative industry into chaos with a trade war waged against the very people buying their product and generating most of their profits.

Obviously, Canadian industry players are prepared to push back aggressively on this front and the Guild has already been doing so. We are in touch with our government, industry partners, other stakeholders and await more clarity on this ever-evolving situation.

Our DGC Members have faced enough challenges, enough uncertainty and more than enough disruption. More doubt and insecurity are the solution to absolutely no one’s problem. Still, this is a vital issue and we want to assure you the Guild is on top of it. In dealing with an uncertain state of affairs, it’s impossible to be certain of the result, but know your Guild is doing everything in its power to protect and defend your interests, and to protect and defend Canadian sovereignty.