President Donald Trump announced the introduction of 100% tariffs on films made outside the United States — in an effort to «save Hollywood from death».
«We want movies to be made in America again!», — wrote Trump on Truth Social. «Among other things, they (films made outside the US) contain messages and propaganda!».
Trump clarified that he was authorizing the US Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative to begin the process of introducing the fees, and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Luthnick responded with a quick post: «We’re working on it».
For years, Hollywood studios have chosen countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and Spain for filming, given the tax incentives that compensated for part of the production cost. These include, according to THR, extremely expensive «Mission impossible 8», Spinoff «John Wick» by Lionsgate «Ballerina», last year’s «Deadpool and Wolverine» and sequel «Gladiator», as well as some of the most anticipated films of the coming years, such as new «Avengers» Rousseau brothers, «The Odyssey» Christopher Nolan and the third «Avatar» James Cameron.
The BBC notes that last year, US spending on film production amounted to $14.54 billion — 26% less than in 2022. At the same time, some of the aforementioned countries saw an increase in spending.
Interestingly, some of Hollywood’s losses were caused by Trump’s tariffs themselves, as China, in response to 145% tariffs (or 245% according to some estimates), announced reduction of screenings of American films.
The very process of introducing tariffs on films may seem very complicated: first, films are intellectual property, not goods, and should not actually be subject to duties (the only way out, as China has shown, is to reduce screenings), and second, the production process itself is very international (scenes can be shot simultaneously in the United States and abroad), and it is very difficult to calculate at what point a film becomes subject to duties.
There is also whether TV series and streaming production, such as Netflix, will be subject to the new tariffs, as well as whether they will apply to films already in production. We are waiting for official news, and keep in mind that the US president can always change his mind, as he did with the general mutual duties.
Spelling error report
The following text will be sent to our editors: