President Trump’s desire to “make Hollywood a great” by his favorite economic weapons – tariffs – has sent trembling through the British film industry.
British producers, camera workers, clothing designers and other films crew woke up on Mr Trump on Monday that he wanted to impose 100 percent tariff on “foreign lands”. This threat is especially worrying in Britain, where Hollywood blockbusters are an important part of the industry.
For the workers of the Creative Arts, the British Union Bectu chief Philipa Childs said, “It was completely out of blue.” “It’s pretty scary.”
Last year, about 90 percent of 5.6 billion £ 7.8 billion came from abroad in Britain and high-end TV production, most of the United States, such as the upcoming “Jurassic World Rebert” and “The Fantastic Four: First step”. The largest and most respected studios in Britain are home of streaming giants like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime. For decades, Britain’s productions have been drawn by its liberal tax breaks, but its experienced workmanship, which has been hitting Hollywood from “Star Wars” in the 1970s.
Mr. Trump has not yet faced this threat yet and it is not clear how he will continue. However, the British industry is still the Coronavirus epidemic and then the actors and screenwriters of 2021 are recovering from the disruption of the US strike, and the uncertainty about the anxiety can erase that progress.
“Studios around London are really filling, and people are back to work,” said Mrs. Childs. “We would be afraid that these studios suddenly became empty again if it turned into reality.”
The Bectu members are still living with memories of the strike, Mrs Childs said. At that time, eighty percent of the members of the survey said that their work was damaged, three-fourths were not working.
Marcus Rider, CEO of Film and TV Charity, which supports art workers with their mental health and money, is preparing for the arrival of requests for help.
“Uncertainty is truly controversial,” he said. People have no idea what the tariff means, or how to respond to them. ” It is “very unstable”, he added.
Mr. Rider said that there was a fear between companies and workers that if people were not able to pay their bills, their industry would be destroyed. The support that was given during the epidemic and the cash grant such strikes could not be supplied in the long -term tariff.
“Even a short -term tariff can have a long -term destructive impact on the workforce,” he said.
Mr. Trump’s consultation on the tariff “relates”, the British Film Commission chief executive Adrian Wetton says, which helps to attract the production in Britain. He said his company would meet with the statistics of the government and other industries to discuss his concerns.
The British government is in “active discussion with the top of the US administration” about the potential tariff and is working to establish what may be proposed, and on Wednesday, lawmakers told parliament that a minister of culture is a minister of culture, Chris Bryant. “This is a very liquid situation, and we will keep a quiet and steady procedure continue.”
Mr. Bryant has added that a lot of concerned companies have arrived. One of the first was the Pinewood Group, the owner of the big studio famous for filming the Bond movie.
At the same time, Britain and the United States are closer to agreeing to an agreement that will simplify some of the recent growth in US tariffs.
Many trade experts ask how the film’s tariff can be applied. Productions of the main film are growing international, including casting and crew of different countries and various aspects of filmmaking such as filming, postpressation, visual effects and distributions, take place in various places. It would be complicated to determine what the “foreign” film is and how to impose tariffs on services.
“I don’t think this can be done,” London trade expert David Henig said. Instead, he said the American tax break would be extended further. “Obviously it makes it threatened for the UK and many other countries that give a tax credit to make films,” he added.
California Governor Gavin News opposed Mr. Trump’s duty on Monday by his own proposal: a $ 7.5 billion federal film credit. It will be the first type of single government subsidy program for the United States industry and the first type at the federal level.
Even without tariffs, high -tax enthusiasm in the United States will “inevitably” impact on British industry, Backetur Mrs Childs says.
To some extent, growing dependence on American production is a challenge for British industry and its workers. The movies like “Wicked” and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Count” and TV shows like “Game of Thrones” Spinf “House of the Dragon” were originally portrayed in the south -east of England. The British government has raised tax breaks for small production in an attempt to encourage Britain’s independent film industry.
This tax credit will help, Mrs. Childs said, “But I don’t think it will fill the vacuum of US investment.”
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