Production companies wanting to continue to make movies outside the United States were presented with a huge hurdle today. This morning, President Donald Trump doubled down on plans to make it more difficult for companies to shoot movies overseas.
According to ScreeRant, as of the morning of Sept. 29, Trump confirmed his intent to enact a 100% tariff on movies made outside of the United States. He first announced the plans in May 2025, which at that time left the entertainment industry in confusion regarding how a tariff on movies would actually work.
In May, Trump made a claim in which he said Hollywood was “dying a very fast death,” and that making films overseas was a “national security threat” that, in turn, brought “messaging and propaganda” into the states. The latest development had Trump reiterating the fact that he plans to impose the tariffs.
On his social media site, Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing “candy from a baby.” California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit. Therefore, in order to solve this long time, never ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Trump’s Initial Announcement Left Many Questions
When Trump first announced the tariffs in May, the industry questioned what a 100% tariff would actually mean. Questions like whether the movie’s tariff would be 100% of its budget, which would be paid by the studios, or on ticket prices, which would be paid for by moviegoers. In regard to traditional, physical imports, tariffs are paid for by the importer at customs, but are then earned back through higher prices that are passed on to customers.
It becomes a bit more complicated with movies, however, since they are intellectual property on loan to movie theaters and streaming platforms. Additionally, movies that are technically American productions are being filmed around the world, such as the new Avengers: Doomsday movie, which just wrapped filming in the U.K. Movies that are American productions tend to go overseas to film because of tax incentives that enable producers to reduce the cost of the film. Studios also use other countries for more desirable settings, such as New Zealand for The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The president’s Truth Social post indicates that he is moving forward with his 100% tariff plan, but there are some questions as to whether Trump even has the authority to follow through with it. ScreenRant stated that “no one is sure what the hard rules of this would be when movies as an import are rather abstract, and the entertainment industry is a global network.”
When he first announced his movie tariff plan in May, things fell flat, so it is hard to say what will happen this time. Hollywood, in the meantime, is seeing many productions leave the U.S. because of costs, but the proposed tariffs may cancel out that issue in the future.
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