‘Movies Made In America’: US President Donald Trump Announces 100% Tariffs On Foreign Films To Protect Hollywood

US President Donald Trump has announced a sweeping 100% tariff on all films produced outside the United States, which he calls a move to revive America’s dwindling film industry.

Posting on Truth Social Sunday, Trump said Hollywood was “dying a very fast death” as international governments offered lucrative incentives to lure U.S. productions abroad.
“This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda,” Trump wrote.

He ordered federal agencies, including the Department of Commerce, to begin the process of imposing tariffs immediately. The move, he claimed, would bring back jobs and revitalize American filmmaking.

“WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” he declared.



Commerce Secretary Signals Support
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick echoed Trump’s sentiment, posting on X (formerly Twitter): “We're on it,” signaling swift action without providing further details about how or when the tariffs would be enforced.

In January, Trump appointed three conservative Hollywood veterans—Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson—to help revamp the American film industry and “bring Hollywood back bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”

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Hollywood's Long Decline
Hollywood has struggled for years as productions moved overseas, attracted by lower costs and generous tax credits. According to FilmLA, a non-profit that tracks local industry activity, film and TV production in Los Angeles has dropped nearly 40% over the past decade. The situation worsened in January when wildfires destroyed parts of Los Angeles, prompting many industry workers to leave the city.

Though some hoped for a post-strike recovery following the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, data suggests the slow comeback.
 

Experts Warn of Retaliation and Industry Fallout
Not everyone supports the move. William Reinsch, a former Commerce official and current senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned that Trump’s tariff could backfire.

“The retaliation will kill our industry. We have a lot more to lose than to gain,” Reinsch said, adding that the case for national security was weak. “It would be difficult to make a national security or national emergency case for movies.”

Global governments are increasingly investing in media production to attract a share of the $248 billion that Ampere Analysis predicts will be spent worldwide on content creation in 2025. With the US market deeply tied into international co-productions and distribution, trade experts caution that the tariff could spark a damaging global trade conflict—with Hollywood caught in the crossfire.

(With Inputs From Reuters)