President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he wants to impose a 100% tariff on movies that are made outside the United States.
“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,” the president’s post on Truth Social read. “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 authorizing 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!”
According to Film LA, film projects and on-location productions in Los Angeles fell by 22.4% from January through March 2025, and television production decreased by 30.5%.
Philip Sokoloski, Vice President of Integrated Communications for Film LA, said in a press release that the historic wildfires had a small impact on filming in the L.A. area, but that the impact was temporary.
Cynthia Littleton, Co-Editor-in-Chief at Variety, told KNX News' Jon Baird that the proposed tariff is causing jitters in the entertainment world.
"This has Hollywood on edge because the movie business is still in a very precarious state, and something like this, which is essentially a huge tax on films, is very concerning even to studios based in the U.S.," she said.
But Jonathan Handel, an entertainment attorney in Hollywood, told Baird the president's move makes no sense, calling it a “nutty proposal.”
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“No one in Hollywood is asking for tariffs on foreign production,” he said. “Everyone in Hollywood is asking for tax rebates, subsidies, and people are terrified, frankly, that this would go into effect and would further devastate the entertainment industry.”
Last week, the L.A. City Council approved a proposal that intends to reduce fees and “streamlines the city’s permitting process” to help bring back productions to L.A.
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