Trump tariff order on movies leaves film industry flummoxed

By Dawn Chmielewski, Lisa Richwine and Andrea Shalal

May 5, 20254:33 PM MSTUpdated 3 hours ago

Item 1 of 3 Crew members work on the movie set of a Jackie Chan-produced film ‘Home Operation’, in Hajar al-Aswad, an area on the southern outskirts of Damascus that was heavily damaged during Syria’s civil war, Syria July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi

[1/3]Crew members work on the movie set of a Jackie Chan-produced film ‘Home Operation’, in Hajar al-Aswad, an area on the southern outskirts of Damascus that was heavily damaged during Syria’s civil war, Syria July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• No final decisions made yet, White House says
• Tariffs will drive up production costs for Hollywood, analysts say
• Netflix drops 2%, leading declines among media stocks
• Tax credits, lower labor costs push production overseas
• Actors’ union says it supports efforts to boost US output

LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) – The entertainment industry reacted with alarm and bafflement on Monday after President Donald Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the U.S., but issued few details on just how such a levy would work.

Veteran studio executives who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity said the announcement on Sunday left unanswered the timing of the proposed levy and how it would be enforced for an industry whose biggest-budget films are often produced across several continents.

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Trump’s pronouncement followed his meeting at Mar-a-Lago with his Hollywood ambassador, actor Jon Voight, special advisor Steven Paul and media executive Scott Karol. The group mulled a range of ideas to revive domestic film and TV production, including federal tax incentives, tax code changes and imposing tariffs “in certain limited circumstances,” the group said in a statement.

Slapping levies on an industry like film would mark a major extension of tariffs as a policy tool into services, for which the U.S. runs a sizable trade surplus. And like the auto, pharmaceutical and chip industries before it, Trump’s declaration threatens to put another business in a tariff-induced state of limbo.

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