President Trump is looking to impose a 100% tax on films made outside the U.S. — claiming it’s a “national security threat” that Hollywood is shooting movies in other countries.
“The movie industry in America is dying a very fast death,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Other countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. This is a concerted effort by other nations and, therefore, a national security threat.”
“We want movies made in America, again,” Trump added in the Sunday night post.
It wasn’t immediately clear how any such tariff on international productions shot in the U.S. and in other countries could be implemented.
Unlike other consumer products, moviegoers generally pay a set price for admission, regardless of the cost of production or taxes imposed on the creator of the film.
The multiplex is a curious target for a trade war because American-made movies still dominate the global marketplace, producing $22.6 billion in exports and $15.3 billion in trade surplus in 2023.
That is effectively the opposite of the scenario with many other consumer goods, where Trump has angrily derided China and other trade partners for engineering huge trade deficits with the U.S.
The Motion Picture Association, which represents major U.S. film studios and streaming services, hasn’t responded to the Trump tariff threat.
American film and television production has been hampered in recent years, with setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic, a Hollywood writers strike and the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Overall production in the U.S. was down last year by 26%, compared with 2021, according to data from ProdPro.
Foreign nations have for years sought to lure movie shoots with tax incentives. New Zealand has emerged as a key location for blockbuster films like the “Lord of the Rings” and “Minecraft,” along with Canada and the United Kingdom. American states and cities have done the same thing.
Trump has said all the taxes fall under the president’s authority to protect “national security,” which has traditionally only been used to influence military or geopolitical issues, not trade fights.
