Hollywood is currently in a tizzy over President Donald Trump announcing plans to impose 100% tariffs on movies produced outside the U.S.
If enacted, that would include major films currently in production, such as Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, which Disney is filming in the UK. James Gunn’s Supergirl is also shooting in the UK. Voltron was filmed in Australia, and James Cameron shot the Avatar movies in New Zealand.
Trump’s tariffs could also impact television, as many shows are produced outside the U.S. Ironically, The Boys—produced by Amazon and showrunner Eric Kripke, a frequent Trump critic—is filmed in Toronto, Canada, as is Reacher. Many shows are also filmed in Vancouver. Rings of Power also filmed in New Zealand. HBO’s The Last of Us also filmed in Canada. Netflix, the largest streamer, also films lots of content overseas and has its own foreign studios. Squid Game is filmed in South Korea. Wednesday in Romania. One Piece in South Africa.
What did Trump say?
Trump posted Sunday on Truth Social:
“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. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda! 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!”
Update: Trump said he is going to meet with movie execs about the tariffs:
Trump: Our film industry has been decimated by other countries. And also by incompetence, like in Los Angeles, the governor is grossly incompetent… Hollywood doesn’t do very much of that business. They have a nice sign but they don’t do very much. pic.twitter.com/yx1dfDzk33
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 5, 2025
How Would Trump’s Movie Tariffs Actually Work?
What’s unclear is how the tariffs will be implemented. Will they apply only to movies filmed entirely outside the U.S., or to any production that shoots even partially overseas?
For example, if Disney spends $300 million on Avengers: Doomsday while filming in the UK, would the tariff be $300 million—doubling the cost to $600 million?
Or would the tariffs be on the cost of ticket prices? Or streaming subscriptions?
That also proves Trump’s point: it’s currently cheaper for studios to film big-budget movies overseas—even when factoring in the cost of flying out cast and crew, housing, meals, and full production—than to shoot in their own backyards in California. Trump wants to level the playing field, as foreign countries offer massive incentives to lure Hollywood productions abroad. Bringing studios back to the U.S. would obviously mean more American jobs for those projects.
.@POTUS: "Remember — there are no tariffs if you build your product here. It's very easy. It's very simple." pic.twitter.com/pPEk1GG10n
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 4, 2025
California Governor Gavin Newsom: Trump has no authority
As a result of Trump’s announcement, movie studio stocks are down a bit on Monday, and California Governor Gavin Newsom has responded to Deadline, saying Trump has no authority to impose 100% movie tariffs:
“We believe he has no authority to impose tariffs under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, since tariffs are not listed as a remedy under that law,” Newsom senior advisor for communications Bob Salladay told Deadline this evening of the president’s undefined threat against overseas productions and their incentives. Perhaps setting the stage for another lawsuit from the Golden State against the MAGA administration and its chaos inducing tariffs, the initial reaction from the Governor’s team is sure take more solid form as more becomes known about what Trump really is up to and wants to see done.
The Trump tariffs are also impacting the action figure and toy markets. Comics are currently exempt.
