Trump Filmzölle: What next for Hollywood?

US President Donald Trump said that he would make films that are made abroad with 100% tariffs because he increases trade disputes with nations around the world.

Trump said in a post about the social of truth that he authorized the US Ministry of Trade and the sales representative to start the process to impose the tax because the America's film industry died “a very fast death”.

What could this mean for both the US film industry and the global film business, including Great Britain?

Trump announced the new tariffs and explained that Hollywood was “dying”. So is it?

It is true that the industry has gone through a really difficult time in recent years.

Production was closed in pandemic and the effects last.

Hollywood Studios spent 11.3 billion US dollars for productions in the second quarter of 2024, which declined a decline of 20% compared to the same period in 2022, as the studios reduced the costs to recover from Covid loss.

All recreational recovery were then strongly suppressed by the 2023 actors and writers.

Then the forest fires beat at the beginning of this year.

And for some years now, more and more people – not only young people – are turning to YouTube and other streaming platforms for content.

The United States is still a large film production hub and, according to Variety, in 2025 since 2025, the domestic income rose by 15.8% to 2024.

The New Marvel superhero film Thunderbolts this weekend led the North American box office this weekend. They came in an estimated 76 million US dollar and made a promising start to the summer season.

But Hollywood is definitely still against it.

The President says that he wants to start “immediately opening a 100% tariff for all films that are coming to our country that are produced in foreign countries. We want films back in America!”

This has led to questions whether the tariffs would also apply to American film companies that produce films abroad.

Several important films recently produced by US studios were made outside of America, including Deadpool & Wolverine, Wicked and Gladiator II. HIT -Franchise company such as Mission Impossible after overseas.

We also do not yet know whether the tariffs are used afterwards.

Trump later told the reporters that “other nations stole the films and filmmaking from the USA”, which may indicate that he only refers to non-US films. We have to wait for more details.

Many countries offer tax reliefs to promote film production such as New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain, and that's something that Trump wants to record.

But it's not the only reason why a US film company wants to film abroad.

Some choose to do this for the specific location, for example exotic and exciting backdrops. Who could forget Tom Cruise's rise of Burj Khalifa, Dubai, in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol?

What could it mean for the next James Bond film, a franchise that now belongs to the US Giant Amazon, but on an iconic British figure that works for MI6 based in London?

And they are not just other countries that offer incentives – other US states attract the film production from Hollywood.

Georgia, Illinois and Kentucky are among the many other US states with which California are now competing.

Gavin Newsom, California Governor, who described Trump as a “coarse-competent” when he spoke about the film tariffs on Monday, is currently urging his plan to more than double the state's film and television tax.

While Newsom has not yet commented on Trump's proposal, his high -ranking communication consultant said to Deadline:

In this phase there are more questions than answers.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has a moratorium for tariffs for digital goods by 2026. Films probably count as digital goods.

And what would you base the tariffs on? Cash income or production costs? Is streaming content included? That would have a big influence on US companies like Netflix. What about post -production, i.e. processing?

How do you classify a foreign film when there are so many co -productions and are often shot in several countries?

Trump seemed to talk about film and not on television, but it is not 100% clear at this time. Would tariffs for films for streaming or only cinema publications apply? We have to wait for more details. And of course Trump can roll up the suggestions as with some other tariffs.

A production company that wants to sell on the US market achieve an enormous increase in cost of 100% tariff for foreign films.

In the announcement of Trump, the chairman of the British government's cultural media and sports committee commented on the British government, lady Caroline Dinenage MP,: “Last month, the cultural, media and sports committee warned of our status as Hollywood of Europe. President Trump's announcement has made this warning too real.

“To make it more difficult to make films in Great Britain is not in the interests of American companies. Their investments in institutions and talents in Great Britain, based on IP in US ownership, shows fantastic returns on both sides of the Atlantic. The ministers urgently need this as part of the currently interrupted trade negotiations.”

The media and entertainment union sub-mining in Great Britain, Philippa Childs, said in a explanation: “These tariffs that come after Covid and the recent slowdown could just cause a knock-out blow that is currently recovering and really worrying of tens of thousands of specialist professors who are being filmed in Great British.”

The governments of Australia and New Zealand have spoken out for their countries' film industry.

“Nobody should have doubts that we will clearly use the rights of the Australian screen industry,” said Tony Burke, the Australian minister of interior affairs.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told a press conference that his government was waiting for further details of the proposed tariffs.

“But we will obviously be a great lawyer, a great advocate of this sector and this industry,” he added.

And with the Film Festival in Cannes around the corner, uncertainty in the air where many US film producers want to sell foreign sales rights.

Customs could stimulate US film companies to make more films on home soil, but the risk is that some films are simply not being made if it is more expensive than doing so abroad. Further incentives or discounts could help compensate for this, but at that time we simply do not know whether this is being discussed at the national level.

Eric Deggans, the critic of the NPR radio, warned that the tariffs, if they should be introduced, could further damage the industry.

Other countries can react by placing tariffs for American films, he told the BBC, making it more difficult to make these films more difficult to make profits overseas “.

“It can lead to a situation in which the tariffs in America cause more damage than benefits,” he added.