I don’t do politics, never have done, but I have been seeing the word ‘tariffs’ thrown around a lot lately. President Trump has been putting tariffs on imports, and he’s now doing the same to the movie industry.
Trump posted that Hollywood and other industries “face devastation” from “a concerted effort by other Nations,” which he calls a “National Security threat.” Following those remarks, he ordered his administration to impose a 100% tariff on any movies entering the U.S. that weren’t produced in America.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform:
“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!”
“Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”
For many years, Hollywood productions have flocked to other countries for their tax incentives, such as the UK, Australia, Ireland and Spain.
Not Just National Security
Talking with C-Span on Sunday, Trump was asked about the tariffs. It’s not just other Nations that are the issue, but also Calinfornia Gov. Gavin Newsom:
“What they’ve done is other nations have been stealing the movies, the moviemaking capabilities from the United States. I’ve done some very strong research over the past week, and we’re making very few movies now. Hollywood is being destroyed. Now, you have a … grossly incompetent governor that allowed that to happen, so I’m not just blaming other nations, but other nations 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. And not only that, governments are actually giving big money. They’re supporting them financially. That’s sort of a threat to our country in a sense.”
Top entertainment execs say this would be devastating for TV and movies. A lot of Hollywood productions film overseas these days—take Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. The crew filmed it in locations around the world, which is a key selling point; it looks like an international production because it is.
No one knows yet whether Trump would offer a ‘Grandfather Clause’ with a cooling-off period to films already in production for a certain amount of time.
Other movies that are currently being shot are:
- Avengers: Doomsday
- The Odyssey
- Avatar 4
- Supergirl
Indie Movies
It’s not just Hollywood that could suffer from Trump’s tariffs. We’ve been bigging up Indie Movies for a while, but a lot of them are shot in places like Eastern Europe. They have low labour costs and tax incentives.
One leading German producer said about the new tariff, “What a bombshell.”. A veteran UK producer said:
“It’s insane. So U.S. companies can only make U.S. films? James Cameron can’t make Avatar overseas? Who pays the tariffs? Leading independent distributors would all be out of business if it’s them.”
I’m pretty sure a lot of them were going out of business without the help of this new tariff. In what may prove to be the get-out clause for industry, the same producer noted: “You can’t impose on creatives what stories they can tell.”
Streaming As Well
Streaming services might feel the pinch of Trump’s new tariff as well. One international seller (of movies) said:
“This also greatly impacts the streamers, whose model is to produce locally and exploit globally, including in the core U.S. market. Would a foreign-shot production ever see the light of day in America? Would it be taken off U.S. streaming services?”
One report said that sewing anxiety and confusion are usually the first steps for Trump ahead of a negotiation. However, no one seems to know what the end game is.
Do you think Trump’s new tariff will make Hollywood make movies in Hollywood again?