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Tariffs on the arts: The impact of Canada-US trade tensions on media and entertainment

Many breathed a sigh of relief in the late afternoon of February 3, 2025, when the news broke that President Donald Trump had halted, for 30 days, the imposition of tariffs on a wide range of Canadian products crossing into the United States.

While there is some ambiguity about the application of the § 1702(b) language to cultural products (particularly fictional materials), the intent of the exception is to respect US constitutional protections for freedom of speech. In the current context, a specific challenge is that US Customs typically evaluates imports on the basis of tariff codes alone, rather than the more “use based” exclusions under IEEPA. Most cultural works flowing north across the border (other than hand-drawn paintings, drawings and pastels) were thus not included in the list of goods subject to retaliatory tariffs that were set out in the February 1, 2025 Order in Council.

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