Last night, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that “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.”
He continued, “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!”
This, of course, comes after Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs and his recent announcement that he was putting a 10% tariff on all goods from countries that trade with the US.
There is no doubt that this shocked the film community, as studios have previously been flocking to international locations to take advantage of the scenery and tax breaks. As CNN reports, Trump may not be completely wrong in saying that Hollywood is struggling to film within the US. The Hollywood Reporter explained that shooting in LA has decreased by 22% this year. Now, some production has moved to Atlanta and New York, which offer tax credits, but no doubt that places like Vancouver and London have also seen an increase in production.
But is it time to panic at the death of the international film scene? I argue not yet.
First, it should be noted that a tariff is a tax imposed on goods imported from another country. This has been Trump’s favorite term to use as he tries to bring back the Golden Age of America. As of right now, his tariffs have been limited to goods, not services. Movies are considered intellectual property, and using international studios may fall under a service. So the idea of putting a tariff on a service or IP is confusing at best.
Now, it is possible that Trump plans to go after the tax incentives that countries use to bring production overseas. This would include non-tariff regulations and incentives. One incentive to return production to the US was brought by California Governor Gavin Newsom. He proposed a massive tax credit to bring back production to Hollywood.
So in reality, this confusing puddle of throwing the word “tariff” on another industry or good is not necessarily a threat yet. If we’ve learned anything in the past 100 days, it’s that this presidency is nothing short of unpredictable and filled with a lot of noise.
But the noise is where I pivot to. As I argue, there is no need to panic, but the rhetoric Trump has now brought to the international film industry is where we need to pay attention.
The fact is, this post goes hand in hand with Trump’s cuts on DEI, his handling of immigrants, and his attacks on public education and programming. While all of these issues are different levels of complicated, they all relate to one idea: diversity and diversity of ideas.
President Trump’s continuous rhetoric on his social media accounts (including the White House Official Instagram) makes it clear that he values white, Christian, non-LGBTQ identifying Americans. His continuous attacks on the LGBTQ community and other minorities have created a bubble of hate and fear. And now, the international film scene is at risk.
This isn’t new, but as of right now, the film industry’s biggest threat is discourse, not laws or executive orders that might be held up in court.
There are two sides to this, as mentioned before, Trump’s tariff on “any and all Movies coming into our Country” is a grey area. Are these US productions filming and using international studios? (This would affect films from Marvel and notably Dune Messiah.)
Are these completely independent productions from foreign filmmakers?
So what do we do? Quite frankly, a lot of us are doing it already. Champion international industry and film!
We cannot control everything, but we can control what we say and do.
Show up at the movies! The list is endless of films that were filmed or are being filmed abroad. (I am looking at you, Mission Impossible.)
Talk about international films. Go see them in theaters. Rent them. Recommend them to your friends. Combating any form of hateful or negative rhetoric comes by simply giving a positive alternative.
The fact is, Trump can try to shut down international films all he wants, be he can’t. They will still be made, even if he makes it harder for them to get into the US. Our job is to put money and support into those films so they can continue to be made and flourish.
And for your convenience and Trump’s, here is a list of some of the international films we have covered at The Rolling Tape:
All Quiet on the Western Front
Sources: CNN, The Hollywood Reporter, CSIS, Politico, The Guardian, NPR, US News
Opinion Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas
Feature Image Credit from ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ (2018), Filmed partly in London. Credit to Paramount Pictures via British GQ