While he may be a product of reality television, Donald Trump is displaying a tenuous grip on the reality of filmmaking with the declaration that he will institute a 100% tariff on films made outside of the US.
Citing foreign films as a “national security threat”, the US President stated on his Truth Social network, “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 authorising 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!”
The declaration follows the appointment by Trump in January of Hollywood veterans Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson, to bring Hollywood back “bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posting on X said: “We’re on it”, but neither Lutnick nor Trump have provided any details on how the tariffs would be implemented.
Any tariff on films will be difficult to calculate. The simplest solution would be a 100% mark-up on tickets for the final film at movie theatres, but what about, for example, Hollywood productions where live action components may be shot in the US, but VFX is carried out across a number of countries? And what of films that go directly to television or streaming platforms?
With years of industry experience showing offsets being the most effective way to attract productions to a particular country, it is uncertain what impact these tariffs will have in the long term.
Commenting on the announcement, Screen Producers Australia (SPA) CEO Matthew Deaner said: “At this stage, it is unclear what this announcement means in practice or how it will be applied and implemented. There are many unknowns for our industry, but until we know more, there’s no doubt it will send shockwaves worldwide.”
To give you some idea of what is at stake, here are some overseas production stats from countries across the region.
Australia
2023/24: Foreign production activity cooled to A$768 million in spend, reflecting a post-pandemic peak normalisation. This total includes about A$501 million from foreign shoots in Australia and A$267 million from PDV-only (post/VFX) projects. Despite the decline, this remained roughly on par with the 5-year average.
New Zealand
2023: U.S. productions alone accounted for approximately NZ$1.33 billion in qualifying New Zealand expenditure (local spend). This far exceeded the NZ$200 million in government rebates paid out that year, illustrating a high return on incentives.
Thailand
2023: Foreign film production in Thailand hit a record high of about ฿6.6–6.75 billion (≈USD 190+ million) in 2023. According to a government spokesperson, 466 productions from 40 countries filmed in Thailand during 2023 – the highest number ever.
Malaysia
2023: Malaysia attracted significantly higher foreign production spending. The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS), which oversees the Film in Malaysia Incentive (FIMI), reported securing about RM1.4 billion worth of foreign production expenditure in 2023 via FIMI and related efforts.
Hopefully, sanity will prevail.
Visit https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/dciths
