In the governing coalition there is deep disagreement over how to handle foreign streaming platforms, especially those from the United States such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney. The SPD, led by Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, supports a statutory requirement that would obligate these companies to make substantial investments in Germany, invoking a corresponding clause in the coalition agreement. In contrast, Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer, who works in the chancellor’s office, favors a voluntary approach and points to investment pledges he has already received from the U.S. firms. He warns that if the regulation were to be enacted, the companies might still divert money to other EU countries for regulatory compliance.
A report in the newspaper “Bild” says the U.S. government has already entered the dispute. The paper quotes a letter from Alan Meltzer, the commercial attaché at the U.S. embassy in Berlin, dated 10 December 2025 and addressed to Finance Minister Klingbeil. In the letter, Melzter expresses concern about the possible introduction of an investment obligation for film and streaming services operating in Germany and urges the German government to consider a voluntary investment commitment instead. A spokesperson for the embassy told “Bild” that mandatory local investment requirements create an uneven playing field, discriminate against U.S. providers and fragment the global digital economy.
Culture Minister Weimer thinks counter‑measures from the Trump administration are plausible if Germany moves ahead with a law that primarily targets U.S. companies. A spokesperson for Weimer told the paper that the U.S. is closely monitoring the German debate and, based on past reactions, such measures cannot be ruled out.
The role of Klingbeil’s State Secretary, Björn Böhning, also fuels tension within the coalition. Böhning headed the Producers’ Alliance (Allianz Deutscher Produzentinnen und Produzenten) until his transfer to the Finance Ministry in 2025, and the group has been pushing strongly for the legal investment rule. When asked, a finance ministry source said Böhning is “not involved in the negotiations over film support”. A Weimer spokesperson, however, said that Böhning is being consulted “regularly” including on matters of film funding.