Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has put a stop to a regulation that would have required U.S. streaming services such as Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Amazon.com‘s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime and The Walt Disney Company‘s (NYSE:DIS) Disney+ to invest billions in Canadian television.
Carney said that the decision was influenced by concerns over affordability, suggesting that the levy would result in increased subscription costs for Canadian consumers, reported POLITICO on Wednesday.
"This is not the time to make Canadians pay another C$50 ($35.94)," Carney told the publication.
Canada’s Liberal government announced a new policy under the Online Streaming Act that would require the broadcast regulator to revise rules, potentially reducing or eliminating contributions that U.S. streaming companies would otherwise have to make to support Canadian TV production and promotion.
As per the report, the move came a day after Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington. Greer has repeatedly called the Online Streaming Act a “discriminatory measure” that “unfairly targets American tech companies.”
Streaming Fee Sparks Trade Debate
Critics argue this move is a concession in the ongoing trade war with President Donald Trump; however, the Canadian Prime Minister maintained that his decision is not tied to the current trade negotiations.
Earlier this year, Canadian Culture Minister Marc Miller said the Online Streaming Act was one of the “preconditions” the Trump administration wanted addressed before broader trade talks could proceed, though he provided no further details publicly.
Canada’s broadcasting regulator recently ruled that foreign streaming companies earning more than C$25 million ($17.98 million) in Canada must allocate 15% of their revenue to support Canadian and Indigenous content production. Responding to the decision, Minister Steven Guilbeault said that the government did not entirely agree with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s decision.
Major U.S. streaming platforms have opposed the fee previously. Carney also met with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos in New York last week, as per the report, though it is unclear whether the Online Streaming Act was discussed.
Notably, Canada’s move comes a day after the Trump administration proposed new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies, including Canada, citing their failure to curb trade in goods produced with forced labor. The proposed duties stem from a Section 301 investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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