President Donald Trump has once again voiced his intention to implement a 100% tariff on all films produced outside the United States. He claims that the American film industry has been “stolen” by other nations, causing significant damage, particularly to California. Trump stated that this move would address a “long time, never ending problem.”
Earlier this year, the President indicated his plans to discuss this tariff proposal with Hollywood executives, expressing concern that the US film industry was in rapid decline.
This announcement follows a recent string of new tariffs introduced by the Trump administration, including a 100% levy on imported drugs with brands or patents and a 50% tariff on kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to declare, “Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby.’ He specifically criticized California’s governor for the state’s handling of the issue.
While the exact timing for the tariff implementation remains unclear, and the White House has yet to comment, questions are being raised about how these tariffs would apply. It is uncertain whether they would encompass films released on streaming services like Netflix or only those shown in cinemas, and how the ‘American-made’ status of a film would be determined, especially considering that many productions utilize international filming locations to take advantage of tax incentives. Industry analysts note that such policies could potentially increase production costs, which might then be passed on to consumers, impacting demand for movie tickets and streaming subscriptions.
Several major productions from US studios, including “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Wicked,” and “Gladiator II,” have recently been filmed outside the US. Despite these trends, the US remains a significant global film production hub, with an estimated $14.54 billion in production spending last year, although this represents a 26% decrease from 2022. Countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK have seen an increase in production spending during the same period.