White House Begins Backtrack on Foreign Film Tariffs, Saying Trump is ‘Exploring All Options’ To ‘Make Hollywood Great Again’

The White House is now saying that there is no immediate plan to begin imposing tariffs on movies made abroad after some in the industry raised questions about what exactly would be taxed. The president said on Sunday night that he was prepared to put a 100 percent tariff on foreign films in the hopes of spurring domestic production. “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,” President Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated.”Mr. Trump said that the potential tariff would affect “any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” Mr. Trump’s White House staff had little to add Monday, telling The New York Sun only that they are keeping all options on the table. “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,” a White House spokesman, Kush Desai, said in an email to the Sun. An administration official pointed the Sun to recent reporting about the decline of Hollywood filmmaking as a result of tax incentives and subsidies being given to production companies in foreign countries. The official mentioned recent comments made by actor Rob Lowe, whose new game show is being filmed in Ireland rather than California. “It’s cheaper to bring 100 American people to Ireland than to walk across the lot at Fox, past the sound stages, and do it there,” Mr. Lowe said in a March episode of his podcast.“There are no tax credits, so like, all those other places are offering 40 percent, and then on top of that, there’s other stuff that they do,” Mr. Lowe added. “That’s not even talking about union stuff. It’s just tax[es], economics of it all, so it’s criminal what California and L.A. have let happen. It’s criminal. Everybody should be fired.”Domestic film and television production has declined precipitously in recent years, likely prodding Mr. Trump to issue his Sunday night threat. Politico reported on Monday that it was actor Jon Voight who first floated to the president the idea of a foreign film tariff. Between 2022 and 2024, production of films and television shows in America declined by 40 percent, while global production decreased by only 20 percent. According to a survey released in January by an entertainment industry-tracking outlet, ProdPro, both studio executives and lower-level employees see filming abroad as being more desirable than producing their work in America. When asked to name their ideal filming locations for budget purposes, a majority of the top 10 preferred locations were outside of the United States. Toronto, the United Kingdom, Vancouver, Central Europe, and Australia took the top five spots. The tenth most desired filming location was South Africa. The sixth through ninth most-preferred production locations were California, Georgia, New Jersey, and New York. Executives don’t see themselves putting much more money into their projects this year, according to the ProdPro survey. The vast majority — 81 percent — of executives who took part in the questionnaire said their studio budgets will either remain the same or shrink over the course of 2025. Production has largely moved abroad in the post-Covid era as a result of higher labor costs in America as well as additional subsidies and tax breaks being given to studios by foreign governments. The United Kingdom in 2024 instituted a substantial tax reform package for production companies that do business within its borders. Films themselves, directors, producers, and even the actors can receive a tax rebate of up to 40 percent from the U.K. depending on the films’ budgets.The head of the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union — one of the most powerful entertainment unions in the U.K. — Philippa Childs told the BBC on Monday that her government must take preemptive measures to protect film and television production as Mr. Trump mulls new tariffs. “The government must move swiftly to defend this vital sector, and support the freelancers who power it, as a matter of essential national economic interest,” Ms. Childs said. It isn’t only high-end television series or films that are being lured to other countries. Ireland now offers a 20 percent tax rebate for some expenditures for unscripted television series, like the one Mr. Lowe is now hosting. Other European nations — including Malta, Portugal, and Spain — similarly offer tax rebates of anywhere from 20 percent to 40 percent.

White House Begins Backtrack on Foreign Film Tariffs, Saying Trump is ‘Exploring All Options’ To ‘Make Hollywood Great Again’

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