White House says 'no final decisions' made on foreign moviemaking tariffs as Trump weighs 'national security'

The White House said Monday "no final decisions" have been made regarding the Trump administration's planned tariffs on foreign moviemaking, as one expert welcomed the potential action as a reprieve for the American film industry. 

"Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

President Donald Trump first announced in a Truth Social post on Sunday that he was authorizing the Department of Commerce and the U.S. trade representative "to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands." Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded on X, "We're on it." 

ACTORS GO BEHIND-THE-SCENES ON HOW TRUMP IS MAKING HOLLYWOOD GREAT AGAIN

"The elite in Hollywood will largely hate this because they’ve sold out their workers in favor of maximum profits while shooting in insanely cheap labor environments," Robby Starbuck, a former Hollywood producer and conservative activist, told Fox News Digital. "American workers who are referred to as ‘below the line’ in filmmaking are over the moon about getting more jobs back here and rental houses couldn’t be happier."

"Overall, while there will be short-term pain for studios, in the long run this will strengthen the American film business," Starbuck said. "Also, communist China’s propaganda efforts take a major hit with this move."

On-location production in the greater Los Angeles area dropped by 22.4% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same time last year, according to FilmLA, a nonprofit that organizes film permits for the city and county. 

One movie producer told the New York Times last month that the Hollywood film industry is undergoing an "existential crisis," as the newspaper noted that reality shows, indie films and even blockbuster films are increasingly making business decisions to film overseas to the detriment of the middle-class workers in the Los Angeles-area, such as camera operators, set decorators and lighting technicians. 

The newspaper noted that despite Hollywood’s many available studios, the game show "The Floor" chose to fly host Rob Lowe and 100 American contestants to Dublin, Ireland, rather than shoot the show domestically.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES 100% TARIFF ON ALL FOREIGN-PRODUCED MOVIES: 'WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!'

The BBC reported that several recent major films produced by U.S. studios were recorded overseas, including "Deadpool & Wolverine," "Wicked" and "Gladiator II." "Mission Impossible" also was shot outside the United States. 

In his Truth Social post, Trump said the movie industry in America is "DYING a very fast death," arguing that other countries "are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States." 

"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 wrote. "WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!" 

Trump told reporters Sunday that other countries have been "stealing" the moviemaking capabilities from the United States, saying that he had done "some very strong research over the last week." 

The president said the U.S. is "making very few movies now" and that Hollywood is "being destroyed." 

"You have an incompetent, grossly incompetent governor that allowed that to happen, so I’m not just blaming other nations," Trump said, making a dig at Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

"But other nations have stolen our movie industry. They’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States and we should have a tariff on movies that come in," Trump added. "Governments are actually giving big money. I mean they’re supporting them financially, so that’s sort of a threat to our country in a sense. And it’s been a very popular thing.… Moviemakers love it."

In January, Trump appointed stars Jon Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone as "special ambassadors" to Hollywood. 

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Voight – who is Angelina Jolie's father – reportedly has recently been meeting with movie executives and union representatives in Los Angeles while crafting a plan to revive the American moviemaking industry, Deadline reported. 

Trump's Hollywood ambassador has met with the Directors Guild of America, Teamsters and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees so far, sources told the outlet.