President Donald Trump has instructed the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative to begin the process of imposing the tariffs
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that he has instructed the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative to begin the process of implementing a 100% tariff on movies made in foreign countries.
He also called runaway production a “national security threat.”
It is unclear how they will be implemented in international movies and productions, including Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Disney’s Avengers: Doomsday and Warner Bros-distributed Dune: Messiah.
Trump elaborated in his post that other countries are luring American studios away with big financial incentives, hurting domestic jobs and spreading “propaganda.”
His move comes as industry insiders, including actor Jon Voight, have been lobbying for stronger federal tax incentives to keep movie productions inside the US.
Data from ProdPro, which tracks production, revealed that movie shoots in the US are down 26% in 2024 compared to 2021. It also found that the top five locations preferred by Hollywood executives were in Canada, the UK, and Australia. California came sixth, and Georgia, NY and NJ followed.
However, Trump’s broad tariff threat raises major uncertainties. It leaves studios confused about handling mixed location shoots and exposes US films to tariff retaliation from foreign governments, potentially jeopardizing global box office earnings.