Georgia's Film Industry on Edge as Movie Tariff Proposal Looms

The Brief

• President Donald Trump intends to introduce significant tariffs on all imported films into the United States.
• Currently, White House staff members are attempting to determine how that would function.
• They mention they're considering every possibility.

ATLANTA - President Donald Trump has shown interest in imposing taxes on every film produced outside of the U.S.

The Atlanta film industry has something to say about that.

What we know

The past few years have been tough for film and TV production in Hollywood and here in Georgia. "We’ve been hit significantly," said Darius Evans, co-president of the advocacy group Georgia Production Partnership. "A lot of the production houses and stages I have talked to are about 40 percent down in business."

Streaming services, the impact of the pandemic, Hollywood strikes, and increasing labor expenses have all had an effect. Additionally, several foreign nations now provide attractive incentives to attract productions overseas.

President Trump now wants to impose a 100 percent tariff "on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands." He believes that will bring more on-screen productions back to the U.S.

What they're saying

"It’s a terrible idea," Evans said. He says a tariff on foreign productions would create a tax that would hammer an already battered industry. "It would be totally destructive for us as a new economy here in the state of Georgia."

Up until now, the White House has remained largely silent about how they plan to impose those tariffs.

What the taxation and tariffs might look like in a conventional manner remains unclear," stated Randy Davidson, CEO and founder of the lobbying organization Georgia Entertainment. "Initially, imposing tariffs seems appealing: 'let’s bring those productions back from abroad to America.' However, the situation is more complex than it appears.

"There are multiple entities that own a production, there are multiple locations that are included in a film. There are productions I know of right now, 80 percent were shot in Australia, 20 percent here in Georgia and in America," Davidson said.

Tariffs are usually applied to goods, not services like film and TV. "It’s not a car, it’s not an iPhone. It’s a varying, moving target, so it’s very hard to figure out how that would happen," Davidson said.

Evans states that consumers will ultimately pay higher prices. Both individuals prefer a federal tax credit over a tariff. According to them, such a tax credit would be more effective in encouraging production to remain within the U.S.

The Source

FOX 5’s Christopher King interviewed Darius Evans, who serves as co-president of the advocacy organization Georgia Production Partnership, for this piece.