Donald Trump has responded with a proposed 100 percent tariff on all film productions shot overseas. This new licensing regime, particularly if its license fee indexes go into effect around the world, would cause shockwaves across the global film establishment, caution industry veterans. Australian filmmakers and producers are raising an outcry over the announcement. They fear that this will damage the export of Australian content to the lucrative US market.
Screen Producers Australia (SPA) is understandably concerned about the tariffs. They are concerned that these levies would render Australian film incentives much less attractive. The federal government currently offers a 30 per cent rebate through its location offset scheme for major film projects shot in Australia. On top of this, state governments offer additional tax breaks to lure film crews. The new tariffs could make these incentives more attractive for productions with sights set on the gargantuan US audience.
In his announcement, Trump pegged foreign film incentives a national security threat. He declared, “Hollywood, and other sectors of our great Nation, are sinisterly being poisoned from within. He went on to assert, “The studio system in America is dying a very, very quick death.” He named new competition from foreign countries that have rolled out attractive incentive packages to lure filmmakers.
And those tariffs will then affect the prices that consumers pay for tickets to their favorite films. This spans George Miller’s beloved Mad Max franchise. If productions can’t get into the US market, Australian audiences would be the ones missing out. Or they’ll just be stuck with the prospect of paying more expensive tickets.
Industry reports have claimed that nearly half of that $1.7 billion went to international productions. This record breaking investment is a vote of confidence in Australia’s lure for filmmakers from all over the globe. Of that, $767 million was spent on attracting foreign film and television productions to shoot down under. Pay attention to these big numbers. A decrease in foreign production would hurt the home economy as well as the industry at large.
In this regard, we welcome and applaud Arts Minister Tony Burke’s unequivocal commitment. In light of these developments, he vows that the Australian government will do everything possible to defend the film industry. He further emphasized that there could be no misinterpretation. We will continue to fight fiercely for the rights of the Australian screen industry.
Matthew Deaner, the Chief Executive of SPA, expressed his dismay at the news. He underlined the unknowns about the actual impacts of Trump’s tariffs. “We haven’t seen yet what this announcement means in practice,” he said. He sought clarity on its application and intent in practice. He pointed out that our industry is full of unknowns. Until we know more, we can all be certain that these unknowns will send ripples of chaos across the world.
