Hollywood shocked by Trump's film tariffs announcement

LOS ANGELES

Hollywood reacted with skepticism on May 5 to U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of 100 percent tariffs on foreign films, with movie insiders calling it a policy made up on the fly by a president who fails to understand how the industry works.

"It makes no sense," entertainment lawyer Jonathan Handel said of Trump's idea.

Handel told AFP that many U.S. productions, from James Bond flicks to the "Mission Impossible" franchise, are filmed abroad for obvious creative reasons.

"If the stunt is Tom Cruise climbing up the Eiffel Tower, what are we supposed to do, shoot at the replica Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas?" Handel said. "I mean, it's just nonsensical."

Handel said movies involve intellectual property.

"You can buy a movie ticket, but you don't buy a movie the way you buy a piece of clothing or an automobile," which can be taxed as they cross a border into the United States, he said.

Even if a system could be devised to impose tariffs on movies filmed outside the United States, such levies would do more harm than good to the U.S. industry, Handel said.

"The result of that would be to reduce production, to increase the cost of movies, to reduce the number of movies available for movie theaters and streamers to show, which would damage the distribution side of the business," he said.

Unions for actors and other media and entertainment workers said they awaited more details of Trump's plan but supported the goal of increasing production of movies, TV and streaming in the United States.

"We will continue to advocate for policies that strengthen our competitive position, accelerate economic growth and create good middle-class jobs for American workers," said one such guild, SAG-AFTRA.

Many movie studios and other industry organizations had yet to officially react by Monday but Trump's announcement triggered crisis meetings, Hollywood news outlets reported, publishing skeptical comments from insiders speaking on condition of anonymity.

With Trump's tariffs threatening the home of Hollywood hits including "The Matrix," "Elvis" and "Crocodile Dundee," Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on May 6 that "collaboration is a good thing."