Aiming At Hollywood North
"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.""WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!""[The U.S. film industry is dying] a very fast death. [Other countries] are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our film-makers and studios away from the United States."U.S. President Donald Trump
 |
| Canada’s film industry could face major challenges after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose 100 per cent tariffs on all foreign-made movies. Some producers say the plan completely misunderstands Canada’s crucial role in the Hollywood system. CBC News |
"[Trump's announcement was] very short on details [making it difficult to know how that tariff would work].""[A Canadian, French or Chinese film looking for distribution in the U.S.] Those you could see easily ... the hundred percent tariff being applicable.""But what about films that ... 80 percent of them are made in the U.S., and then some of the location shooting is done in another country?""Or what about all the production is done in the U.S. but then some of the post-production is done in another country?""Are those also going to be subject to 100 percent?""Our industry is very much a supplemental services industry. We are kept afloat by the fact that we are the service industry of choice for many American-made entertainment products."Charlie Keil, professor of film and history, University of Toronto
 |
Yet another tariff threat issued by the imperialist American president intent on destroying trade between former allies, and reaching out well beyond just North America, to draw Europe and Asia into his wholesale trade disruption tactics, all in the interests of restoring to the United States of America, benefits and financial imperatives that foreign interests have purportedly drained away to enrich themselves at the expense of the U.S. Handily invented statistics that are readily revealed to be just that are irrelevant to his mercurial temperament. Whatever he claims must be accepted as truth; his 'truth' in any event.
That his unsettling and upsetting of the global market has astonished and befuddled all countries, large and small who have been his targets, puzzled at the rationale behind these communiques announcing one tariff after another, then temporarily withdrawing them has kept the world on tenterhooks of apprehension and fear of a global meltdown. The very fact that American consumers themselves are facing accelerated price rises for everything from food to housing to energy hasn't fazed this man the least bit. A little bit of economic pain, he promised, and then, once his global plans are in place, wealth will accrue to the U.S. at an astounding rate!
This time a post to Truth Social had Mr. Trump alerting the world, and more particularly, Canada, that its ancillary film industry is in trouble for the impending future. Filming in Los Angeles saw a drop of 22.4 percent the first quarter of 2025 according to NBC. Economic knock-on effects affecting restaurants, retail and support services resulted from the drop in Los Angeles' filming activities. But then, the facts also are that it is more expensive to film there on location than it is to use Canadian facilities and services and professionals to finish a film.
While complaining about 'incentives' drawing filmmakers away from the U.S., reality is that tax incentives express an essential portion of the business of making films around the world. Eligible companies are provided in Canada with a tax credit of 16 percent of qualified Canadian labour expenditures through the Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit from the Government of Canada. Credits accrue for both domestic and foreign productions as well, at the provincial level.
Last year California Governor Gavin Newsom doubled the state's film and TV tax credit program, reflecting tax credits in the United States, sans a national tax credit. When U.S. productions come to Canada it is a reflection of the quality of its locations, a cheaper dollar and local talent second to none.
 |
| Crews at work during the filming of Deadpool 2 in Vancouver in 2017 Photo by Nick Procaylo /PNG |
"The game has always been ownership of [intellectual property]. So I'm not sure what he [Trump] is afraid of.""If the Americans own the majority of content, they win, no matter if it's shot in Germany, Latvia, or the moon. It doesn't matter.""If [Trump] pulls GM and Ford out of Canada, you're not going to create a Canadian car business.""Whereas in the feature film business, you can create feature films in Canada. You can create co-productions with other territories.""[Bringing production back to the U.S. means] less will be made and prices will be higher; therefore you'll have to charge consumers more.""Once again, tariffs will affect the consumer more than anybody."Noah Segal, co-president, Canadian production and distribution company Elevation Pictures
 |
| Leonardo DiCaprio, right, and Kate Winslet appear in a scene from 1997's Titanic, which was partly shot in Canada. (Paramount Pictures/Associated Press) |
Labels: Foreign Film Production, Global Trade Upset, Integrated Economy, Mercurial Entitlements, Tax Incentives, U.S. President Donald Trump, Universal Tariffs
posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, May 07, 2025
<< Home