Labour: Supreme Court tariff ruling removes Government’s ‘excuse’ on media law
Monday, 2 March 2026
There is less reason for the Government to continue stalling on legislation designed to assist the news media now that the US Supreme Court has limited the ability of President Donald Trump to impose tariffs, says Labour media spokesperson Reuben Davidson.
Davidson said the Supreme Court ruling “took away an excuse” for Goldsmith failing to re-introduce the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill to Parliament for its second reading.
Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith announced in July 2024 that the Government would advance the Bill which was originally introduced to Parliament by the former Labour government.
The legislation would strong-arm large internet search and social media companies, including Google and Meta, into helping fund the media through licensing deals, in recognition of the benefits they gain from media content being available via their platforms.
But the law change has been sitting in limbo since Trump’s election.
Read more:
Goldsmith admits Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill shelved because of Trump
Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill ‘not dead’, but heartbeat weak
Responding to questions in Parliament from Davidson in December on the long hold-up, Goldsmith said “as is highly obvious to everybody, circumstances changed somewhat at the end of 2024 with the US presidency changes, and a more cautious approach was adopted”.
Trump has threatened tariffs against other countries that have sought to intervene in favour of domestic media using similar legislation.
There is speculation that such threats are also holding up progress on a proposal by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage to require major streaming television services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime to commission or fund a set proportion of local content.
Trump’s ability to impose emergency and so-called “reciprocal” tariffs was successfully challenged in the Supreme Court, which confirmed last week that power lay with the US Congress.
The decision confirmed the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) could still impose tariffs, under the direction of the president, in retaliation for trade measures it judged discriminated against US businesses, but only after an investigation.
The 15% “global” tariff announced by Trump in the wake of his Supreme Court defeat has been implemented under another statute that allows him to take action for a period without congressional approval to rectify “large and serious” US balance-of-payments deficits.
Davidson said he believed coalition politics might be more to blame for the media legislation stalling here. The ACT Party exercised its right to “agree to disagree” on advancing the Bill, meaning the Government would have had to look to the Opposition for support.
The feedback he was getting from the media sector was that the portfolio was not a priority for Goldsmith, who also serves as the Minister of Justice, the Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister, and the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, he said.
Goldsmith said the Government’s media reform package was “still under active consideration”.
“We continue to monitor overseas developments,” he said.
Stuff owner Sinead Boucher, who currently chairs the News Publishers’ Association, said that while Goldsmith had been pretty upfront that concern about President Trump's reaction was behind his shelving of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, governments needed to rein in the “power tech giants wield over our lives, now more than ever”.
'In whatever form is necessary, our Government must legislate to protect its citizens from the harms of big tech that are happening everywhere, from teens and pre-teens, to scams and to the pervasive theft of creative IP.
“There is a growing movement for this from all parts of society and as New Zealand's leading media organisation, we will be asking all parties this election year to front up with how they will stand up for our sovereign rights and protections,” she said.