White House: No Final Decision Made on Foreign Film Tariffs

On Monday, the White House revealed that no final decisions were made about the previously announced 100% tariffs on foreign films by US President Donald Trump.

The announcement of Trump sparked widespread alarm across the global film industry.

The Spokesperson of the White House Kush Desai clarified: “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."

The US president announced the tariffs on his Truth Social platform, claiming he had authorized “the Department of Commerce, and the United States 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.”

In the post, Trump warned that the US film industry was “DYING a very fast death” and there was a “concerted effort” by other countries to offer “all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States” – which he said was a “national security threat”.

Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick responded on X on Sunday evening, writing: “We’re on it.”

After the announcement, shares in US streaming platforms and production companies dropped.

Netflix shares were down 1.7% by early afternoon, while Amazon dipped 1.5%. Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount dropped 1.1% and 1% respectively.