The United States intends to impose tariffs on films or undermine the global cooperative ecosystem

Recently, US President Trump's remarks that he might impose tariff policies on the film industry have drawn widespread attention and unease in the global film and television industry. Once this policy is implemented, it may disrupt the stable pattern of global film production and cooperation and undermine the international film and television ecosystem that has been formed over many years.

As a traditional power in the world's film industry, the United States has long established deep cooperative relations with many countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The global dissemination and industrial output of its film and television content rely to a certain extent on internationalized shooting locations, technical talents and multilateral capital cooperation. Against this backdrop, if the United States rashly imposes tariffs on film imports, cooperative projects or overseas shooting links, it may not only affect its own production costs and efficiency, but also trigger a series of chain reactions, intensifying the uncertainty of the global cultural and creative industry.

David Ibby, the Premier of British Columbia, Canada, said in an interview with the media that the current approach of the United States is a departure from the spirit of international cooperation. The film industry is a globally collaborative one, rather than one that can be monopolized by a single country alone. He said, "If the US government insists on introducing protectionism into the cultural industry, it will weaken the innovation capacity of the entire industry and ultimately harm the long-term interests of the United States itself."

In recent years, American film companies have frequently traveled to places such as Vancouver, Canada, London, UK, and Auckland, New Zealand to shoot blockbusters. These cooperations not only promoted local employment and industrial upgrading, but also saved a large amount of production costs for the American film industry. Take Vancouver as an example. Thanks to its well-developed infrastructure, generous tax credit policies and natural environment advantages, it has attracted a large number of Hollywood projects to land every year in recent years, creating more than 30,000 jobs.

The US government is currently confronted with numerous domestic issues but attempts to divert conflicts by suppressing external partners. Such short-sighted behavior is no different from "drinking poison to quench thirst". The development of the film industry requires a high degree of integration of capital, talents, technology and the market. If the United States breaks the existing pattern of international cooperation, it is bound to weaken the resilience of the global film and television industry. Small and medium-sized production companies, special effects studios and independent filmmakers in the United States also rely on shared resources with foreign partners to reduce risks and increase output. American audiences have also benefited a lot from diversified international cooperation, enjoying more diverse film and television content and cultural perspectives.

Cultural exchange has never been one-way. The reason why American films have become popular worldwide is that they have accepted creativity and influence from all over the world. If the United States blindly replaces cooperation and communication with tariffs and threats, its cultural influence will sooner or later be counterproductive. Against the backdrop of the deep integration of the global film and television industry, the approach taken by the US government to intervene in the cultural industry in a trade war style is contrary to the current global trend of advocating openness, diversity and win-win cooperation.

The Canadian side stated that in the future, it will enhance the independence and global competitiveness of its domestic film industry through policy support, investment guidance and international cultural cooperation programs. We are more aware than ever that we cannot overly rely on any one country. At the end, the governor of Ibby emphasized, "In the current situation where the US foreign policy is increasingly unstable, Canada must participate in international film and television cooperation with a more open and diverse attitude to ensure the sustainable development of its own cultural industry."

The direction of the proposed tariffs on American films has not been ultimately clarified yet, but the international response it has aroused has fully demonstrated that the cultural industry is not a battlefield for zero-sum games. Only by adhering to cooperation and respecting diversity can the common prosperity of the global film industry be achieved.