On Sunday, Donald Trump used his Truth Social platform to announce a 100% tariff on all films produced in “Foreign Lands,” asserting that the US film industry is facing a “very fast death” due to the incentives provided by other countries to attract American filmmakers. Trump directed the commerce department and the US trade representative to begin implementing this tariff immediately. He framed this as a national security threat, also stating that it’s a matter of messaging and propaganda. The former president emphasized his desire for movies to be made in America again.
The specifics of the tariff’s implementation were not disclosed by either Trump or Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who ruled out any immediate action. Uncertainty remains as to whether the tariff would affect production companies, both foreign and American, that produce films overseas.
Over the last decade, roughly 40% of film and television production in Los Angeles has decreased, according to FilmLA, a non-profit tracking production in the region. Concurrently, countries around the world have been offering more generous tax credits and cash rebates to attract film productions, aiming to gather a larger share of the $248bn in content production costs projected for 2025 by Ampere Analysis.
Trump’s announcement follows his instigation of a trade war with China and the imposition of global tariffs, which have caused market upheavals and raised concerns of a US recession. The film industry has already suffered the effects of these tariffs, as China responded in April by cutting the number of American movies allowed in the country.
China is the world’s second-largest film market after the US, yet in recent years, domestic films have surpassed Hollywood productions. Former senior commerce department official William Reinsch, now a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, believes that retaliation against Trump’s movie tariff would be catastrophic for the American film industry. “The retaliation will kill our industry,” Reinsch stated, arguing it will be challenging to justify the measure as a national security or national emergency concern.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/trump-tariffs-foreign-movies
