Lights, Camera, Confusion? Trump's Film Tariff Leaves Hollywood Stunned

Los Angeles – President Donald Trump intends to show Hollywood the money.

Hollywood wants the president to provide more details.

Sunday night, Trump threatened to impose harsh 100 percent tariffs on imported movies, leaving filmmakers, labor unions, and California politicians scrambling to gauge the potential effects of this new trade move by the president—especially considering it was developed with insights from his advisor from Hollywood, Jon Voight. This development could have significant repercussions for California's struggling entertainment sector.

Instead of triggering more anti-Trump outbursts from an industry and a state teeming with Democrats, the action left everyone puzzled. (Voight’s publicist did not reply to requests for comments.)

If the President provides a proposal with additional specifics," Governor Gavin Newsom stated, "we will examine it.

Assemblymember Laura Friedman, a Democratic representative from Hollywood with experience as a film producer, asked about the functionality of Trump's strategy —for instance, whether this would apply when filming takes place at a single location abroad—and mentioned that an emerging effort to advocate for a nationwide film tax incentive could serve as a more straightforward and efficient method to stop America from "losing a key sector."

Basically, how does this tariff function?" Friedman asked during an interview. "A film isn’t something you can treat like a shipment of goods. Are you going to apply the tariff to the whole production process of the movie?

These specifics did not emerge from the White House on Monday. A senior government employee spoke under condition of anonymity to shed light on internal discussions, stating that the Commerce Department "is working through it" and was expected to publish a report soon. When asked about the intricate aspects of the tariff proposal, President Trump sidestepped the query.

“That's a different story,” Trump told reporters during a White House event, before pivoting into assailing Newsom as “grossly incompetent” for allowing the industry “to be taken away from Hollywood.”

The problem of Hollywood's downturn is genuine and significant. For many years, film production has been shifting away from its historical hub in Los Angeles due to other regions and nations attracting productions with tax incentives and reduced expenses.

According to a survey conducted by FilmLA—an organization that collaborates with the city and county—the number of productions filmed in the Los Angeles area dropped by 25% between 2018 and 2023. This decline occurred as countries like the United Kingdom and states such as New York expanded their studio facilities.

This contraction led Newsom to suggest increasing the state’s current film tax credit by over twofold. However, California Democrats, who have aimed to support the industry, showed immediate hesitation towards Trump’s announcement due to his longstanding hostility against the state and his strained relations with Hollywood, which predominantly holds progressive views.

Assemblymember Rick Zbur emphasized in a statement that Trump’s current tariffs, which California has legally challenged, "are hurting American consumers." Senator Adam Schiff contended in his statement that implementing a federal film tax credit would be better than tariffs that might lead to "unexpected and possibly detrimental effects."

President Trump harbors significant animosity toward California and hasn’t hesitated to attempt harming us through whatever means available," stated Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, a Democratic representative from Los Angeles. He contended that the president’s suggestion was "detrimental to our interests.

“Immediately, a number of entertainment producers and film critics and folks who are active in the industry were quite a bit mortified,” Bryan said of the initial reaction. “They couldn't believe this was the approach — especially given the way that we in California are trying to do all we can to keep and preserve the industry.”

The problem swiftly permeated California’s gubernatorial race as several Democratic contenders raised doubts. Ex-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was among them. said the "reckless" gambit could end up having adverse effects. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra stated in an interview, "It's challenging to determine what Trump is truly committed to."

“Did he think that through?” Becerra asked rhetorically. “Did he think anything through?”

As with Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on foreign trading partners, his announcement left the entertainment world suspended in a state of anticipation. The logistics of Trump’s threat alone have left experts puzzled.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who leads the influential SAG-AFTRA union, stated in an announcement that the organization was still waiting for more detailed information. When contacted, a spokesperson for the California Film Commission echoed Governor Newsom’s comments, whereas a representative from FilmLA chose not to provide any remarks.

The Motion Picture Association, which represents the industry’s biggest studios, declined to comment on Trump’s pronouncement but noted that the trade group’s most recent economic impact report found the U.S. movie and TV industry ran a $15.3 billion trade surplus in 2023 and carried a positive trade balance in “every major market in the world.”

This isn’t entirely unprecedented territory. In 2001, a coalition of labor organizations petitioned the International Trade Commission to investigate possible tariffs on film and TV productions from Canada in response to Canadian subsidies ravaging the industry. The labor groups withdrew the request before the agency could make a determination, but a 2007 petition for USTR to probe whether the Canadian subsidies violated trade rules was swiftly rejected.

Currently, Trump is once again issuing a warning to foreign film industries. Laurence Farreng, a representative for the Renew party affiliated with French President Emmanuel Macron in the European Parliament, has forecasted that "the Americans will end up footing the bill."

I will attend Cannes, Farreng said, In reference to the glamorous movie event that attracts top-tier actors, directors, and producers to the southern coast of France every summer, "I think this topic will keep the producers quite occupied."

Megan Messerly, Caitlin Oprysko, and Giorgio Leali provided additional reporting.