The White House said on Monday that no final decisions have been made about imposing tariffs on foreign films, just a day after Donald Trump declared a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the United States – an announcement that sparked widespread alarm across the global film industry.
“Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said.
The US president had announced the tariffs on his Truth Social platform, claiming he had authorized “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”.
In his Sunday post, Trump offered few details on how such a trade penalty would work, but warned that the US film industry was “DYING a very fast death” and said that there was a “concerted effort” by other countries to offer “all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States” – which he said was a “national security threat”.
Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick responded on X on Sunday evening, writing: “We’re on it.”
The announcement sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry.
On Monday, shares in US streaming platforms and production companies dropped as uncertainty loomed, especially because Trump’s post did not say whether the tariffs would apply to films distributed on streaming platforms.
Netflix shares were down 1.7% by early afternoon, while Amazon dipped 1.5%. Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount dropped 1.1% and 1% respectively.
In Australia and New Zealand, which serve as major production hubs for global franchises such as the Lord of the Rings series, its Tolkienesque cousin The Hobbit, and various Marvel films, lawmakers in those countries responded that they would advocate for their respective film industries.
Australia’s home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said that he had spoken with the head of the government body Screen Australia about the proposed tariffs and that “nobody should be under any doubt that we will be standing up unequivocally for the rights of the Australian screen industry.”
And New Zealand’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said: “We’ll have to see the detail of what actually ultimately emerges. But we’ll be obviously a great advocate, great champion of that sector in that industry.”
In the UK, a parliamentarian also warned that such tariffs were “not in the interests of American businesses” and the UK media union Bectu urged the UK government to protect the country’s “vital” film sector, warning tens of thousands of freelance jobs could be at risk.
The announcement on Sunday follows Trump’s earlier pledges to revitalize the US film industry. But early on Monday afternoon, the White House began walking back Trump’s announcement, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Just before taking office, Trump appointed actors Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson as “special ambassadors” to Hollywood tasked with bringing the industry back “bigger, better, and stronger than ever before”.
The Associated Press reported that it is common for major blockbusters and smaller productions to film scenes in the US as well as internationally. Big-budget projects often span multiple countries.
For years, according to the AP, incentive programs have influenced where films are made, increasingly driving film production away from California to states and countries offering more favorable tax incentives, such as Canada and the UK.
According to FilmLA, a non-profit that tracks production in the Los Angeles area, film and television production in LA has dropped by nearly 40% over the past decade.
Trump’s announcement on Sunday comes after he triggered a trade war with China, and imposed global tariffs, unsettling global markets and sparking fears of a potential US recession.
In April, China, which is currently the world’s second-largest film market after the US, responded to Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products by reducing the quota of American movies allowed into the country.
