U.S. President Donald Trump has announced his administration’s intention to impose a 100 per cent tariff on movies produced outside of the United States, including Canadian-made films.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that the American film industry—by far the world’s largest—is in existential danger of collapsing under the pressure of international competition bolstered by government incentives.
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” said Trump.
“Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated.”
Trump described the production of TV series and films in other countries for the consumption of American audiences as being akin to a “national security threat”, requiring the U.S. government to protect the film industry with large tariffs.
“This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!” said Trump.
“Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.”
While the Trump administration has not determined how they would impose tariffs on non-physical goods like movies, the tariffs on Canadian-produced films have the potential to devastate Canada’s film industry.
According to Grand View Research, Canada’s film and entertainment industry generated $4.4 billion USD in 2023 and revenue is expected to nearly double in size by 2030.
Recent films and TV series filmed in Canada include The Last of Us, North of North, The Suicide Squad, and Deadpool.
Canada has attracted major film productions by offering a slew of federal and provincial incentives to filmmakers.
The federal government provides the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit for productions in which 75 per cent of production costs are paid to Canadians and whose production company has a permanent presence in Canada.
Each province and territory offers their own incentives to film producers in the form of tax credits to partly cover the cost of labour and/or overall production costs. In the case of Alberta, the province offers a 22 per cent tax credit for production costs, and 30 per cent credit if the film’s copyright is based in Alberta.
By contrast, the American film industry brought in approximately $29.9 billion in 2023, though growth has been stagnant since the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent Writers Guild of America strike in 2023.
While Trump has promised a 100 per cent tariff on foreign-produced films, it is unclear how much of a film’s production must be done within the United States to qualify and how the U.S. government would collect the resulting duties.
Since the advent of streaming services, millions of consumers now pay for a subscription which grants them the rights to view a collection of movies and TV shows. It is uncertain how the American government will collect duties for films published directly on streaming services.
True North reached out to the U.S. trade representative for comment, though no response was given.
A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism, culture, and Gaming told True North that the Ontario government values the place the film industry holds in the province and that they plan on helping the industry through potentially tough times.
“Ontario’s film, television, and media industries play a key role in our economy. Our government is proud to lead the way in protecting these industries while taking steps to unlock our full economic potential,” says that spokesperson.
“We have invested over $1 billion to support Ontario’s screen-based industry in 2024–25. This support is attracting more projects, creating good jobs, and boosting local economies. Our government has been clear – we will do whatever it takes to protect Ontario. We continue to work closely with industry and labour partners impacted by President Trump’s unjustified tariffs.”