President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he will impose a 100% tariff on all films produced outside the U.S., citing national security concerns and a desire to revive America’s “dying” film industry.
Trump authorized the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce to begin the process of levying the tariffs, declaring foreign film subsidies a “concerted effort” by other countries to undermine Hollywood’s global dominance.
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “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!”
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) May 5, 2025
The president blamed a “grossly incompetent governor,” likely Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for “Hollywood being destroyed” in a comment to reporters outside of Marine One on Monday morning.
“I’ve done some very strong research over the past week, and we’re making very few movies now,” Trump said. “Hollywood is being destroyed. Now, you have an incompetent, grossly incompetent governor that allowed that to happen, so I’m not just blaming other nations. But other nations, a lot of them, have stolen our movie industry. If they’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States, then we should have a tariff on movies that come in.”
TRUMP: “Hollywood is being destroyed. You have a grossly incompetent governor that allowed that to happen… Other nations have stolen our movie industry…We should have a tariff on movies that come in.” pic.twitter.com/DszbONmFvG
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 5, 2025
Roughly half of all U.S. spending on film and television projects over $40 million in 2023 occurred outside the country, according to ProdPro, a firm that tracks global film budgets.
The Los Angeles fires in January further exacerbated the trend of overseas film production, according to FilmLA, a nonprofit that issues shoot permits in the city. The nonprofit’s first-quarter production report shows L.A. on-location production plunged 22.4% year-over-year, including a 28.9% slide for feature films and a 30.5% hit to television.
It is unclear whether the tariffs would apply to independent foreign-language films or joint ventures with American studios. The Motion Picture Association, which represents major Hollywood studios, did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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