Donald Trump has vowed to hit foreign-made films with a massive 100 per cent tariff – in a move that could devastate Britain’s booming movie sector.
The US president announced the crackdown on Monday, claiming Hollywood had been ‘stolen’ by rival nations.
‘Our moviemaking business has been stolen from the United States of America by other countries, just like stealing “candy from a baby”,’ he raged on Truth Social.
Trump has long promised to restore Hollywood to its ‘golden age’, blaming generous tax breaks offered abroad for luring big productions away from Los Angeles.
The impact on the UK could be severe with some figures from the British Film Institute showing overseas investment made up 87 per cent of UK film spending last year – a 78 per cent jump on the year before.
Trump first floated the idea in May, calling foreign incentives ‘a concerted effort by other nations and, therefore, a national security threat’.
On Monday, he doubled down – taking aim at California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, who he branded ‘weak and incompetent’.
‘Therefore, in order to solve this long-time, never-ending problem, I will be imposing a 100 per cent tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States,’ he wrote.
Whether the UK will be caught in the crossfire remains unclear, but when the UK-US trade deal was signed in May, Trump told The Times that James Bond had ‘nothing to worry about’.
Donald Trump has vowed to hit foreign-made films with a massive 100 per cent tariff – in a move that could devastate Britain’s booming movie sector
‘We’re going to have a discussion on that separately,’ he added.
‘As you know we’re putting tariffs on that particular film set, the moviemakers, and we’re going to be doing some tariffs to get that because a lot of them have left this country.
‘They all live here, the money comes from here, everything comes from here, but they make them in other countries so we’re going to do something to bring them back, but James Bond has nothing to worry about.’
Downing Street is said to be waiting for clarification on how the tariffs would work – and whether they would even apply to the UK.
A government spokesperson insisted: ‘Our film industry employs millions of people, generates billions for our economy and showcases British culture globally.
‘We are absolutely committed to ensuring it continues to thrive and create good jobs right across the country through our modern industrial strategy.’
Industry figures also poured scorn on Trump’s plan, pointing out that films are not traded like normal goods and questioning how tariffs would even be calculated – whether by box office or production costs.
Philippa Childs, head of Bectu, the union for creative workers, warned the threat ‘completely misunderstands’ how the industry works.
‘Tariffs would be completely unworkable as most productions rely on global connectivity,’ she said.
‘Moreover, the imposition of tariffs would be a hammer blow the global sector can ill afford, as it would jeopardise the UK’s highly skilled workforce. The government must be alive to this risk and work actively to protect the UK’s world leading film sector.’
