The imposition of 100% tariffs on films produced abroad, was announced by US President Donald Trump.
HDN Newsroom
President Trump said that a process of imposing 100 percent tariffs on films distributed in American theaters and produced abroad will begin immediately.
According to the US President who posted on Truth Social, his social media network, the American film industry is dying very quickly (...) Hollywood and many other areas in the U.S. are being destroyed.
Thus, Donald Trump has declared that he will impose 100% tariffs on films made outside the U.S. in order to "save" the "dead" Hollywood!
100% tariffs on films produced abroad and then shipped to the United States, Donald Trump decided, giving a relevant mandate to the leadership of the Department of Commerce. As he said on Sunday (4/5) on Truth Social, the American film industry is dying "very quickly" because of the incentives offered by other countries to attract filmmakers.
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” the American President wrote, complaining that other countries “are offering all sorts of incentives to draw” filmmakers and studios away from the U.S. “This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”
Neither Donald Trump nor Commerce Secretary Howard Latnik gave details on how the tariffs would be enforced.
It is not yet clear whether the tariffs will be imposed on films through streaming services and those shown in cinemas, or whether they will be calculated on the basis of production costs or box office revenues.
It should be noted that representatives of the Film Association, which represents the major studios, did not make any comment.
Last January, the U.S. President anointed Hollywood ambassadors — actors John Voight, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson — to bring the film industry back to its "golden age," to make Hollywood "bigger, better, and stronger than ever."
As reported by Reuters, film and television producers have been leaving Hollywood for years, heading to places with tax incentives that make filming more economical.
"These tariffs, which come after the pandemic, could deal a blow to an industry that is just recovering," said the union's leader, Philippa Childs. In fact, she warned that they threaten tens of thousands of freelance jobs making films in the UK.
The value of film production, as well as high-tech TV films, in the UK stood at £5.6 billion ($7.45 billion) in 2024, up 31% from 2023, according to the British Film Institute.
Also, in 2023, about half of U.S. producers' spending on film and TV movies, with budgets of more than $40 million, took place outside the United States, according to research firm ProdPro.
Film and TV production has declined by 40 percent over the past decade in Los Angeles, according to FilmLA, a nonprofit organization.
Former senior Commerce official William Raines, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said retaliation against Donald Trump's film tariffs would be catastrophic.
"Retaliation will destroy our industry. We have more to lose than to gain," he said, adding that it would be difficult to put the films in a state of national security or emergency.
On Monday (5/5), the leaders of Australia and New Zealand "responded" that they would support their local industries. Some Marvel superhero movies have been filmed in Australia, while "The Lord of the Rings" in New Zealand.
The British Media and Entertainment Union Bectu has called on the government to move quickly to protect the country's film industry.
