President Donald Trump turned toward an unexpected target on Sunday as he warned the film industry to stop shifting productions overseas ― or else face massive tariffs.
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” the president wrote on his Truth Social website, noting that other nations are offering tax incentives to lure film production.
“Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated,” he wrote. “This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”
Trump said he would place a 100% tariff on films produced in other countries.
“WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” he wrote.
It’s not clear how this would impact movies filmed in multiple locations including the United States. It’s also not clear if this would apply to television and/or streaming productions, which are also often filmed abroad.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters after disembarking Marine One upon arrival on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) via Associated Press
Canada in particular can often draw U.S. productions with a mix of tax breaks and a favorable exchange rate, The Hollywood Reporter noted in 2023. That same report found that 171 foreign films were shot in Canada in 2022, with most of them being Hollywood productions, along with 258 TV shows — also mostly from the United States.
About 70% of Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies, for example, are filmed in Canada, the New York Times reported in 2023.
Los Angeles in particular has seen an exodus of productions, not just to international locations but also to other parts of the United States that have lured the industry with tax breaks and other incentives. Even postproduction work is migrating out of Hollywood, in some cases to overseas locations.
Los Angeles last month passed a measure to make it easier to film in the city, while the state of California is considering increased financial incentives for productions in the state.
“Other nations have been stealing the movies, the movie-making capabilities from the United States,” Trump told reporters as he returned to the White House on Sunday night. “I’ve done some very strong research over the last week, and we’re making very few movies now. Hollywood is being destroyed.”
He attacked California Gov. Gavin Newsom as “grossly incompetent,” saying he “allowed that to happen.”
