Donald Trump’s desire to impose tariffs on foreign-made films, and Jon Voight provides the president with some roadmap to help the Hollywood film industry, which further clarifies.
Trump went to social media on Sunday (May 4), describing foreign film production brands as a “national security threat.”
The U.S. president wrote on his own website Truth Social Social: “The American film industry is dying very quickly.
“It is a unanimous effort by other countries and therefore a national security threat. Message and publicity are included among all other things! So I am authorizing the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative to immediately start tariffs on all movies generated in foreign countries in all movies generated in our country.
“We hope to make American movies again!”
Jon Voight and Donald Trump outside the Oval Office in January 2020 (Getty Images)
Details about the controversial plan have become scarce after Trump speaks out, but Deadline Now the report says a team of Voight, special counsel Steven Paul and SP Media Group/Atlas Comics president Scott Karol has submitted a proposal to Trump at his Mar-A-Lago Resort detailing how to drive American film production.
Their ideas are said to involve federal tax incentives, tax law changes, co-production treaties with other countries, and infrastructure subsidies for film owners, film and television production companies, and post-production companies. The three’s plans also include notes on job training and “taxes in certain limited circumstances.”
In a video posted on X/Twitter, Voight was named one of Trump’s “special ambassadors” in Hollywood, claiming: “Our industry has suffered a lot of hardship recently over the past few years, and many Americans have lost their jobs in their work abroad.”
Voight stressed the severity of this situation, adding that “people have lost their homes” and “cannot support their families.”
“The president loves the entertainment business and this country, and he will help us make Hollywood great again,” said Voight, who won the Oscar in 1979. go home.
In addition to Voight's comments, Deadline Paul said, “The American film industry and Hollywood are beacons for teaching the American dream to the world and are engines for job growth and career opportunities. We must maintain the leadership of the United States in film and television production.”
Karol responded to these ideas, noting: “We have spent months meeting with top leaders in the film and television industry and have broad agreement that out-of-control output has become a serious problem and this plan needs to be addressed now. The plan is designed to escalate the competitive environment so that production made here in the United States is not only a competitive option, but the first option.”
On Sunday, the White House appears to be on the severity of tariffs, spokesman Kush Desai told Hollywood Reporter: “While no final decision on foreign film tariffs has been made, the administration is exploring all options to fulfill President Trump’s instructions to protect our country’s national and economic security while making Hollywood stand out again.”
At the time of writing, there was no meeting between Trump and studio manufacturers. A source told Deadline: “We don't even know when this should happen – it came in us when Trump announced the news this morning.”
