- U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has not yet made any final decisions on foreign film tariffs but is exploring all options to deliver on the president's directive concerning Hollywood, White House spokesman Kush Desai said on Monday, May 5, 2025.
- Trump on Sunday announced a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the country, saying the American movie industry was dying a "very fast death" due to the incentives that other countries were offering to lure filmmakers.
- Importantly, filmmakers have for years left Hollywood for destinations including the UK and Canada to lower costs. One non-US union said the tariff plan would be a "knock-out blow" to the international industry. A White House official noted that Hollywood film production saw a sharp decline in the first quarter of 2025, logging just 451 "shoot days" for feature films in the region - a drop of nearly 30% from a year earlier.
- It was unclear if the tariffs would apply to films on streaming services, as well as those shown at cinemas, or how they would be calculated. Notwithstanding, Netflix (NFLX), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and Paramount Global (PARA) were each down around 1% in late afternoon trading after paring steeper losses earlier in the session. Disney (DIS) hovered just above the flatline.
- In his Truth Social post announcing the new tariff, Trump said he was authorising the relevant government agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, to immediately begin the process of imposing a 100% tariff on all films produced abroad that are then sent into the United States. The White House released no details on the legal basis for the move or how it would be implemented, leaving many in the film industry flummoxed.
- “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," Desai said.
(Sources: Reuters)