U.S. concerned Ottawa’s online streaming bill could impact trade with Canada – National

Washington has raised concerns about the trade implications of Ottawa’s online-streaming bill, prompting a legal expert to warn that Canada could face hundreds of millions of dollars of retaliatory tariffs if it becomes law.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai expressed disquiet about the proposed legislation, known as Bill C-11, during talks earlier this month with International Trade Minister Mary Ng at the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) Free Trade Commission ministerial meeting.

The online-streaming bill, which has passed the House of Commons and is now in the Senate, would force American-owned platforms, including YouTube, Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video, to promote Canadian TV, movies, videos or music, and help fund Canadian content.

Last month, federal Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez claimed the online-streaming bill, if passed, would generate at least $1 billion a year for Canada’s creative sector, including Indigenous programs.

Ottawa’s public record of the meeting on July 8 with Ng did not mention that her American counterpart raised concerns about the bill

But the U.S. government’s record of the meeting says “Ambassador Tai expressed concern about pending legislation in the Canadian Parliament that could impact digital streaming services.”

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Alice Hansen, a spokeswoman for Ng, said Wednesday: “Ambassador Tai raised Bill C-11, and Minister Ng reiterated that this bill does not institute discriminatory treatment and is in line with Canada’s trade obligations.”

Michael Geist, the University…