Trump Proposes 100% Tariff on Foreign Films
President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that he plans to implement a 100% tariff on films made outside the United States. He cited national security issues and aims to rejuvenate what he described as America’s “dying” film industry.
Trump has directed the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce to begin the tariff process, claiming that foreign subsidies are part of a “concerted effort” by other nations to diminish Hollywood’s global position.
In a post on Truth Social, he declared, “The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death. Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A, are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”
Trump pointed to a “grossly incompetent governor,” presumably referring to California Governor Gavin Newsom, as a contributor to “Hollywood being destroyed.” He made these remarks to reporters while departing from Marine One on Monday morning.
“I’ve done some very strong research over the past week, and we’re making very few movies now,” he said. “Hollywood is being destroyed. Now, you have an incompetent, grossly incompetent governor that allowed that to happen. I’m not just blaming other nations. But a lot of them have stolen our movie industry. If they’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States, then we should have a tariff on movies that come in.”
Data from ProdPro indicates that about half of all U.S. spending on film and television projects costing over $40 million in 2023 occurred outside the country.
The trend of overseas film production has been worsened by the recent fires in Los Angeles, as reported by FilmLA, a nonprofit organization that issues filming permits in the city. Their first-quarter production report indicated a 22.4% drop in L.A. on-location production from the previous year, with feature films down 28.9% and television productions down 30.5%.
It remains uncertain whether the proposed tariffs would affect independent foreign-language films or collaborations with American studios. The Motion Picture Association has not yet commented on the situation.
