Overview

• Trump unveiled the plan in a Truth Social post, alleging the industry was "stolen" by other countries and calling California Governor Gavin Newsom "weak and incompetent."
• The administration released no implementing details, leaving open whether any duty would cover streaming releases or only theatrical films.
• The July U.S.–EU agreement did not mention films but set a 15% overall tariff cap for covered goods, which the European Commission has described as insurance against higher duties for EU exporters.
• The announcement follows Trump’s May remarks casting foreign production incentives as a national security threat to the U.S. film industry.
• Hollywood has increasingly filmed major projects in countries such as Canada, the U.K., Hungary, the Czech Republic, Malta, Australia, and New Zealand, while California has expanded incentives to retain shoots.