Trump threatens film produced and filmed outside the U.S. with major tariffs

International movies and movies made outside of the United States could be at risk after President Donald Trump announced last week that government agencies could soon institute a 100% tariff on any movies produced outside the country. This would not only affect the growing movie industry and its talent from Latin American countries, but also Latinos, who are the most avid filmgoers per capita in the U.S. 

“WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” Trump wrote on the social media channel Truth Social. 

He also openly wrote that the American movie industry was dying a “very fast death” and called incentives being offered by other countries to be sites of filming a “national threat.”

“Other countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the U.S.,” he said. “Hollywood and many other areas within the U.S.A. are being devastated.” 

According to BBC, White House spokesperson Kush Desai stated that the administration is “exploring all options” and that “no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made.”

Trump's announcement comes less than two months after Netflix announced that the streaming giant would be investing $1 billion to produce series and movies in Mexico over the next four years.

“Our journey in Mexico, so far, has taken us from north to south, from sunsets on the Baja California peninsula to sunrises on the Caribbean coast. We have produced in more than 50 locations in 25 states. And with this renewed commitment, we look forward to deepening our partnership even further,” Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said during a press conference with Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum on February 20.

“Roma,” a Netflix original film shot in Mexico, won three Oscars, one for best international feature. Another first for Netflix and Mexico was Guillermo del Toro's "Pinocchio," which took home the 2023 Academy Award for best animated feature.

During their conversation over the weekend, Jon Voight, one of Trump's appointed symbolic ambassadors to bring Hollywood back "bigger, better, and stronger than ever before," claimed that Trump presented a plan that included tax breaks and subsidies for theater owners and producers.

Voight, along with Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson, was appointed by Trump in January.

“The president loves the entertainment business and this country, and he will help us make Hollywood great again,” Voight said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the administration, the unions, studios and streamers to help form a plan to keep our industry healthy and bring more productions back to America.”

It is still unclear when and how the tariffs could be implemented.