The international film industry is showing little concern over U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed proposal to impose a 100% tariff on films made outside the United States—a move he says is intended to bring back film jobs lost to global production hubs.
In studios and production centers across the world, business continues as usual. “Star Wars: Starfighter” is currently filming in Britain, soundstages in Hungary are fully booked, and post-production houses in Australia remain busy despite the tariff talk.
Trump’s tariff idea, first raised in May and now revived, initially sent shockwaves through Hollywood. Producers briefly paused projects and financing deals to assess potential financial risks, according to two sources familiar with international film financing.
This time, the reaction has been more restrained.
“Other than the initial flurry of, ‘Oh, he’s said it again,’ people aren’t taking it as seriously as they did the first time,” said Lee Stone, a partner at London law firm Lee & Thompson, who worked on the Emmy-winning Netflix series Adolescence.
In early May, Trump’s initial call for tariffs—framed as a defense against the “very fast death” of the U.S. film industry—caused widespread panic across the sector, particularly ahead of the Cannes Film Festival. “It was terrible timing,” Stone recalled. “This time, there isn’t the same sense of paralysis.”
Global Production Still Thriving
Fresh data from industry researcher ProdPro shows that while total spending has fallen 15% year-over-year amid a slowdown in scripted television and big-budget films, there’s no sign of a retreat from international production hubs.
“We’re not seeing any evidence that studios are shifting more production back to the U.S. because of the tariff threat,” said ProdPro CEO Alexander LoVerde.
The U.S. remains the world’s largest production center, accounting for $16.6 billion in film spending over the past year. Yet Hollywood studios and streaming platforms spent even more—$24.3 billion—on projects made abroad, capitalizing on tax incentives, lower costs, and top-tier facilities.
The United Kingdom led the pack, drawing $8.7 billion in film and scripted TV investments, including Star Wars: Starfighter, the next installment in the iconic franchise set for release in May 2027. Canada followed with $6.4 billion, while Australia, Ireland, Hungary, and Spain collectively hosted nearly a quarter of global production.
Pandemic and Strikes Accelerated the Shift Abroad
The COVID-19 pandemic and Hollywood’s recent writers’ and actors’ strikes accelerated the trend toward overseas production.
“During the pandemic, Australia became a production bubble—especially in Queensland—where filming could continue while much of the world was shut down,” said Dr. Kirsten Stevens, a film expert at the University of Melbourne.
Countries have since enhanced incentives to attract filmmakers: Prague increased tax breaks from 20% to 25%, Britain offers 25.5% relief (with even higher rates for animation and independent films), and Hungary’s facilities remain fully booked, according to Csaba Kael, government commissioner for Hungary’s film industry.
“Any U.S. trade policy change would take time to implement,” Kael noted.
Hollywood’s global workflow has also proven efficient. “It’s common for high-end films to split work between Australia, New Zealand, London, and elsewhere,” said Mike Seymour, an Emmy-nominated visual effects specialist from the University of Sydney. “Sometimes films are effectively being worked on 24 hours a day because of the time zones.”
Industry Pushes for U.S. Incentives Instead of Tariffs
For now, production schedules remain intact. “The film industry dislikes uncertainty,” said Stephen Weizenecker, an entertainment lawyer with Barnes & Thornburg in Atlanta. “When it hesitates, projects stop altogether.”
Instead of tariffs, U.S. unions, guilds, and veteran actor Jon Voight are urging Trump to introduce a national tax incentive to make domestic filmmaking more competitive globally. “What we really want is a national tax incentive that would be more effective than any tariffs,” one studio executive said.
Bipartisan lawmakers have already introduced the CREATE Act, which would extend and expand current tax deductions for U.S. film productions set to expire in December.
Still, industry professionals abroad remain wary of Trump’s proposal. “It’s hard to gauge whether this will actually happen,” said one visual artist who requested anonymity over financing concerns. “But if it did, the impact would be devastating.”
Source:Africa Publicity
