President Donald Trump announced Sunday he will impose a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the United States, describing foreign production incentives as a “National Security threat” that is causing the American film industry to die a “very fast death.”
“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 declared on his Truth Social platform, concluding with: “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”
The President said he has authorised relevant government agencies, including the Department of Commerce, to “immediately begin the process” of implementing the tariffs. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded on X with a brief message: “We’re on it.”
However, neither Trump nor Lutnick provided specific details about how the tariffs would be implemented. According to Reuters, industry insiders are questioning whether the tariffs would apply to streaming services as well as theatrical releases, and how they would be calculated, whether based on production costs or box office revenue.
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This move follows Trump’s January appointment of Hollywood veterans Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson to lead efforts to bring Hollywood back “bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”
Film and television production has been steadily leaving Hollywood for years, attracted by tax incentives in other locations. According to research firm ProdPro, about half of the spending on movie and TV projects with budgets exceeding $40 million went outside the U.S. in 2023. Los Angeles has experienced a nearly 40% drop in production over the past decade, according to FilmLA.
All major media companies, including Walt Disney, Netflix, and Universal Pictures, currently film in countries like Canada and Britain, taking advantage of credits and cash rebates offered by foreign governments. A recent ProdPro survey ranked California as only the sixth most preferred filming location for the next two years, behind Toronto, Britain, Vancouver, Central Europe, and Australia.
