Chancellor reassures Crown Works Studios backers there was no mention of movie tariffs in Trump trade deal negotiations
With preparatory work having started on the site of the Crown Works Studios, the chancellor has moved to reassure the region’s movie makers over concerns of threats by Donald Trump to impose a 100% tariff on movies made outside of the USA, by insisting the US president made “no reference” to the threat during any official negotiations.
The chancellor was speaking to the Echo during a visit to Sunderland to confirm £1bn of investment and 1,000 new jobs at the under development new site of the new AESC gigafactory.
Last week the president said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he has authorised government departments to impose the tariff “on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands”.
President Trump said that the US film industry was “dying a very fast death" and added “we want to make movies in America again”.
The new £475m Crown Works Studios on the banks of the River Wear would make Sunderland one of the biggest movie makers in Europe and with the potential to create over 8,000 new jobs and generate annually £334million for the local economy, the threat has inevitably caused concerns.
Responding to the situation, the chancellor said: “We were really pleased to this week announce our new trade deals with India and the USA which is going to be good for jobs and industry here in the North East.
“During the negotiations, there was no mention of any movie tariffs on film productions. We are firmly behind the Crown Works Film Studios which is why in the autumn budget we agreed to invest £25m in this development.”
The chancellor also spoke about her commitment to the development during a previous visit to the city in December.
Speaking then, Mrs Reeves said: “There is huge potential in the film industry but also in post production here in Sunderland.
"We know you've got the skills and talent here in Sunderland and this is about Government backing local people and local projects.”
Following President Trump’s post, Sunderland based North East Screen CEO, who helped bring blockbuster movies including Indiana Jones and Dial of Destiny, 1917, and Dungeons and Dragons to the North East, said they were looking to “determine the implications of the proposed tariffs”.
Since his initial post, President Trump has slightly back tracked on his threat and has said he will consult Hollywood executives to see if "they're happy" with his proposal.