Australia and New Zealand have vowed to advocate for their film industries after US President Donald Trump announced a plan to impose 100 per cent tariffs on foreign-made movies.
The two countries have emerged as popular filming locations for Hollywood movies in recent years, given lower costs and tax incentives from federal and state governments.
Earlier, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that it was due to incentives offered by other countries to lure filmmakers that the American movie industry was dying a "very fast death".
He said he was authorising the relevant government agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, to immediately begin the process of imposing a 100 per cent tariff on all films produced abroad that are then sent into the United States.
Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he had spoken to the head of government body Screen Australia, which offers funding to support the development, production and marketing of screen content, about the proposed tariffs.
"Nobody should be under any doubt that we will be standing up unequivocally for the rights of the Australian screen industry," Burke said.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government was awaiting further details on the proposed tariffs.
"We'll have to see the detail of what actually ultimately emerges," he said. “But we'll be obviously a great advocate, great champion of that sector and that industry."
The Australian film and television sector was worth more than AU$4 billion (US$2.58 billion) in 2022, according to the country’s statistics bureau.
The Australian government has committed A$540 million in tax incentives since 2019 to attract international productions.
In New Zealand, the film sector generates NZ$3.5 billion (US$2 billion) annually, with about a third of revenue coming from the US, its foreign ministry said in a March 2025 report.
Universal Studios in Los Angeles. – Reuters
The British media and entertainment union Bectu called on the government to move swiftly to protect the country's "vital" film industry.
"These tariffs, coming after Covid and the recent slowdown, could deal a knock-out blow to an industry that is only just recovering," said Bectu head Philippa Childs.
She said they would also threaten tens of thousands jobs of freelancers who make films in the UK.
Film and high-end TV production in the UK was worth £5.6 billion in 2024, a 31 per cent increase on 2023, according to the British Film Institute.
The government's Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2023, about half of the spending by US producers on movie and TV projects with budgets of more than $40 million went outside the US, according to research firm ProdPro.
Film and television production has fallen by nearly 40 per cent over the last decade in Hollywood's home city of Los Angeles, according to FilmLA, a non-profit that tracks the region's production.
The January 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.
A ProdPro survey of executives found California was the sixth most preferred place to film in the next two years, behind Toronto, Britain, Vancouver, Central Europe and Australia.
Hollywood producers and labor unions have been urging Governor Gavin Newsom to boost the state's tax incentives to better compete with other locations.
Trump's proposed movie tariff follows a series of trade conflicts initiated by his administration, which have roiled markets and led to fears of a US recession.
Former senior Commerce official William Reinsch, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said retaliation against 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.