Fears of UK film industry jobs bloodbath: Tens of thousands of freelancers could be out of work if Donald Trump applies 100% tariff on non-US movies, experts warn

Daily Mail​

05-05-2025

President Donald Trump opened a new salvo in his tariff war today targeting films made outside the US with a 100 per cent levy and experts have warned it could mean tens of thousands of British freelancers could be out of work.
UK industry figures have warned the plans 'could deal a knock-out blow' to the UK film sector.
Philippa Childs, head of the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu), said the UK industry is 'only just recovering' from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, when many productions were delayed or cancelled.
'The UK is a world leader in film and TV production, employing thousands of talented workers, and this is a key growth sector in the Government's industrial strategy,' she said.
'These tariffs, coming after Covid and the recent slowdown, could deal a knock-out blow to an industry that is only just recovering and will be really worrying news for tens of thousands of skilled freelancers who make films in the UK.
'The Government must move swiftly to defend this vital sector, and support the freelancers who power it, as a matter of essential national economic interest.'
Mr Trump said he has permitted the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative to impose the 100 per cent tariff 'on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands '.
'The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,' he wrote last night on his Truth Social platform, complaining that other countries 'are offering all sorts of incentives to draw' filmmakers and studios away from the US.
'This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!'
It was not immediately clear how any such tariff on international productions could be implemented. It is common for both large and smaller films to include production in both the US and other countries.
Kirsty Bell, chief executive of production company Goldfinch, said the entertainment industry is in decline 'across the whole of the Western world' but said tariffs are not the answer.
She said: 'The issue isn't that foreign films are taking precedence over domestic films, it's that, firstly, films are cheaper to make overseas, because of lack of tax credits in certain places... the unions, the lower cost of labour, and buying budgets have been drastically reduced over two years, all driven by the change in viewing habits.
'People aren't going to the cinema as much and decline in subscription services and rise of social media platforms and content creators... the industry is entirely changed.'
She added: 'The answer is not tariffs if he's trying to kick-start the industry in Hollywood. It's developing an ecosystem for film-making that is entirely different to what has been before.
'There's seismic changes in how the entertainment industry is structured needing to happen.'
President Donald Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform last night
Ms Bell questioned how the tariff would work and said blockbusters such as Barbie, which was distributed by US film studio Warner Bros Pictures, 'was actually shot virtually entirely in the UK'.
'If those US films don't get partly produced or produced in the UK, freelancers are going to be jobless. I'm telling you now, they really are going to be jobless,' she said.
Big-budget movies like the upcoming Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, for instance, are often shot around the world. The production starring Tom Cruise was filmed in Britain, Norway, South Africa and Malta.
However, the Harry Potter movies are an example of a film series shot almost entirely in Britain - with locations including Alnwick Castle, Durham Cathedral and London Zoo.
Incentive programmes for years have influenced where movies are shot, increasingly driving film production out of California and to other states and countries with favourable tax incentives, like Canada and the UK.
Yet tariffs are designed to lead consumers toward American products, and American-produced movies overwhelmingly dominate the domestic marketplace.
China has ramped up its domestic movie production, culminating in the animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2 grossing more than $2billion (£1.5billion) this year.
But even then, its sales came almost entirely from mainland China. In North America, it earned just $20.9million (£15.7million).
After the announcement, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on X: 'We're on it.'
Neither Mr Lutnick nor Mr Trump provided any details on how the tariffs would be implemented.
It was unclear if the tariffs would apply to movies on streaming services as well as those shown in cinemas, or if they would be calculated based on production costs or box office revenue.
There was also no mention in Mr Trump's post of whether television shows, an increasingly popular and profitable sector of production for the screen, would be affected.
Hollywood executives were trying to sort out details today. The Motion Picture Association, which represents the major studios in the US, had no immediate comment.
According to the MPA, the American movies produced $22.6billion (£17billion) in exports and $15.3billion (£11.5billion) in trade surplus in 2023.
Mr Trump has made good on the 'tariff man' label he gave himself years ago, slapping new taxes on goods made in countries around the globe.
That includes a 145 per cent tariff on Chinese goods and a 10 per cent baseline tariff on goods from other countries, with even higher levies threatened.
By unilaterally imposing tariffs, he has exerted extraordinary influence over the flow of commerce, creating political risks and pulling the market in different directions.
There are tariffs on autos, steel and aluminium, with more imports, including pharmaceutical drugs, set to be subject to new tariffs in the weeks ahead.
Mr Trump has long voiced concern about movie production moving overseas.
Shortly before he took office, he announced that he had tapped actors Mel Gibson, Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone to serve as 'special ambassadors' to Hollywood to bring it 'BACK-BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!'
US film and television production has been hampered in recent years, with setbacks from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hollywood guild strikes of 2023 and the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
The wildfires accelerated concerns that producers may look outside Los Angeles, and that camera operators, costume designers, sound technicians and other behind-the-scenes workers may move out of town rather than try to rebuild in their neighbourhoods.
Overall production in the US was down 26 per cent last year compared with 2021, according to data from ProdPro, which tracks production.
The group's annual survey of executives, which asked about preferred filming locations, found no location in the US made the top five, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Toronto, the UK, Vancouver, Central Europe and Australia came out on top, with California placing sixth, Georgia seventh, New Jersey eighth and New York ninth.
The problem is especially acute in California. In the greater Los Angeles area, production last year was down 5.6 per cent from 2023 according to FilmLA, second only to 2020, during the peak of the pandemic.
Last October, governor Gavin Newsom proposed expanding California's Film & Television Tax Credit programme to $750million (£564million) annually, up from $330 million (£248million).
Other US cities like Atlanta, New York, Chicago and San Francisco have also used aggressive tax incentives to lure film and TV productions using cash grants, as in Texas, or tax credits, which Georgia and New Mexico offer.
'Other nations have been stealing the movie-making capabilities from the United States,' Mr Trump told reporters at the White House last night after returning from a weekend in Florida.
'If they're not willing to make a movie inside the United States, we should have a tariff on movies that come in.'
Former senior Commerce official William Reinsch, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said retaliation against Mr Trump's film tariffs would be devastating.
'The retaliation will kill our industry. We have a lot more to lose than to gain,' he said, adding it would be difficult to make a national security or national emergency case for movies.
Mr Trump and the Republicans have traditionally received scant support from the entertainment industry, and a huge number of stars from Taylor Swift to George Clooney backed Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Leaders in Australia and New Zealand have already responded to Mr Trump's tariff announcement by saying they would advocate for their local industries.
Some Marvel superhero movies have been filmed in Australia, while New Zealand was the backdrop for 'The Lord of the Rings' films.
David Aaronovitch, presenter of BBC Radio 4's Briefing Room, tweeted: 'How can Trump's film tariff (however applied) be anything other than an attack on the British and Australian film industries?
'It's not as though Americans en masse watch foreign language movies.'
Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage said members warned 'against complacency on our status as the Hollywood of Europe' in their report on British film and high-end TV, published last month.
'President Trump's announcement has made that warning all too real,' she added.
'Making it more difficult to make films in the UK is not in the interests of American businesses. Their investment in facilities and talent in the UK, based on US-owned IP (intellectual property), is showing fantastic returns on both sides of the Atlantic. Ministers must urgently prioritise this as part of the trade negotiations currently under way.
'At the same time, the Government's forthcoming Creative Industries Sector Plan needs to meet the challenge we set down of incentivising inward investment while also growing our domestic sector so British film and high-end TV can thrive.'
The committee's report said the UK's film and high-end television industry is 'dominated' by inward investment from US studios and that this 'brings significant economic and social benefits to the UK'.
Last year, the Government introduced the Independent Film Tax Credit, which allows productions costing up to £15million to benefit from an increased tax relief of 53 per cent.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said it would help to 'sustain a world-leading industry here in the UK'.
A UK Government spokesperson told MailOnline today: 'The film sector is a key part of the UK's world-class creative industries, which employ millions of people, generate billions for our economy and showcase the best of our creativity and culture to the world.
'We are absolutely committed to ensuring these sectors can continue to thrive and create good jobs right across the country, and will set this out through a new Creative Industries Sector Plan to be published soon.
'Talks on an economic deal between the US and the UK are ongoing - but we are not going to provide a running commentary on the details of live discussions or set any timelines because it is not in the national interest.
'We will continue to take a calm and steady approach to talks and aim to find a resolution to help ease the pressure on UK businesses and consumers.'
And a British Film Institute spokesperson told MailOnline: 'The BFI is working closely with the UK Government, and industry partners in the UK and US while we understand the detail of the proposal.
'We want to keep collaboration at the heart of our sectors, so we remain a constructive partner to our friends in the US and internationally.'