Trump’s threatened 100% tariff on foreign-produced movies takes direct aim at Toronto’s film industry
In 2023, Canada’s film and TV industry had $12.2 billion worth of production, and contributed roughly $14 billion to Canada’s Gross Domestic Product with 海角社区官网often standing in for U.S. cities.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff target is movies produced outside the U.S., spelling trouble for Canada’s multibillion dollar film and TV industry.
Late Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he intends to impose a 100 per cent tariff on movies produced outside the U.S.
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death. Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States,” Trump posted. “Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated.”
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Trump also called foreign-produced films “propaganda” and “a national security threat.”
“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!,” Trump added.
In 2023, Canada’s film and TV industry had $12.2 billion worth of production, and contributed roughly $14 billion to Canada’s Gross Domestic Product.
Dozens of films and TV shows are being produced in 海角社区官网alone at any given time, with many of them destined to be shown in the U.S., with this city often standing in for American cities.
Shortly before Trump took office, he聽聽actors Mel Gibson, Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone to serve as 鈥渟pecial ambassadors鈥 to Hollywood to bring it 鈥淏ACK鈥擝IGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!鈥
Overall production in the U.S. was down 26% last year compared with 2021, according to data from ProdPro, which tracks production.聽
The group鈥檚 annual survey of executives, which asked about preferred filming locations, found no location in the U.S. made the top five,聽. Toronto, the U.K., Vancouver, Central Europe and Australia came out on top, with California placing sixth, Georgia seventh, New Jersey eighth and New York ninth.
The problem is especially acute in California. In the greater Los Angeles area, production last year was down 5.6% from 2023聽, second only to 2020, during the peak of the pandemic. Last, October, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed expanding California鈥檚 Film & Television Tax Credit program to $750 million annually, up from $330 million.聽
More to come ...
With files from Star wire services
Josh Rubin is a Toronto-based business reporter. Follow him on
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