Where do our CanCon laws come in with Trump’s new trade belligerence?

January 22, 2025 Alan Cross 0 Comments 2 min read

Great. The Orange One wants to bring back the Great Depression by adding tariffs on everything in an effort to make America great again. This was tried once before with the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. That’s when the US government raised taxes on imported goods, setting off a chain reaction that plunged the global economy into chaos for years. This is considered to be one of the absolute worst economic decisions ever made by a nation.

And it’s not just a proposed 25% tariff on Canadian goods that should have us worried. Some American business groups say that our CanCon rules could make things worse.

Living next to the largest exporter of popular culture and soft power in the known universe, Canada needs cultural protection measures so we’re able to enjoy and celebrate our own music and stories. This is a big part of the prosed Online Streaming Act, which seeks to have foreign companies like Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and all the other streamers contribute cash to the Canadian cultural ecosystem just like domestic broadcasters.

The streamers hate this idea, of course, even though the cost to them wouldn’t even amount of pocket change. The law says that these foreign companies, which are siphoning hard currency out of the country and putting nothing but, should pay a 5% levy on all revenues over $25 million. It’s not dissimilar to policies in other countries.

The US Chamber of Commerce said this in a bunch of documents about the CRTC and any new definition of Canadian content: “Now is not the time for Canada to invite retaliation on trade issues from the incoming administration.”

“Wait!” you say, “Don’t the provisions of the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement exempt Canadian cultural industries?” Why, yes. Yes, it does. But The National Foreign Trade Council (Amazon, Google, and Meta are members of the baord) says that the CUSMA doesn’t account for things like the Online Streaming Act. They claim that the deal allows the US to retaliate in some way to hurt Canadian commercial interests.

Another quote: “It is critical that the CRTC avoid these unintended consequences that could invite retaliation, particularly given the incoming administration’s objective of addressing unfair trading practices…Preventing foreign online undertakings from owning IP in Canadian programs will result in smaller budgets, fewer jobs and, by extension, less exportable content.”