President Trump’s initial proposal to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-produced films was met with bafflement and horror in Hollywood. But for lawmakers who represent film industry workers, it looked like an opportunity.
“I would like to refocus the conversation around a national film tax credit,” said Rep. Laura Friedman, a Democrat from Burbank. “We know this works.”
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For months, Sen. Adam Schiff has been working with unions and industry stakeholders on a proposed federal subsidy for film and TV production, which would counter those offered by the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries.
Schiff and Friedman, who is working on the House version, are in search of Republicans to form a bipartisan coalition behind the bill.
Trump has not endorsed a federal film subsidy. But in calling for a tariff, he has conceded that a problem exists that requires some sort of federal action.
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Friedman said there was reason for optimism that Republicans will come onboard.
“I do think we’ll have a bipartisan group,” she said, “if President Trump is really serious about having a dominant film industry and keeping the jobs in the U.S.”
Entertainment industry figures who have been working on the bill are realistic about the idea that this is a long-term project. In the shorter term, they hope to build support to extend and reinstate two tax deductions — Section 181 and Section 199 — that offer limited support to the industry.
Jon Voight, the president’s “special ambassador” to Hollywood, has also expressed support for those tax deductions. He has also suggested a 10% federal subsidy on top of any existing state incentive, or a 20% incentive for states that do not subsidize production.
“Every studio has a lot of smart people, and they have maneuvered the write-offs and the gifts that are being given out throughout the world to lure people to different countries,” Voight told Variety on Wednesday. “They take advantage of them… Now we’re saying, ‘Hey, we have to have that here.’ Let’s have the level playing field. But really, we need more than that. We need to be competitive.”
Voight has also suggested subsidies for theaters and soundstages, as well as numerous other measures including a tariff on productions that could shoot in America but go overseas.
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said the chaos caused by Trump’s tariff proposal has not been helpful. The film industry is a “nuanced and fragile ecosystem,” she said, and a tariff would be “destructive.”
“I do think it’s elevated people’s blood pressure, because there are more questions than answers,” she said. “We don’t need continued confusion right now. We have an economy that is sputtering.”
But she said it suggests that Republicans may get engaged on the issue. She noted that red states like Georgia and Louisiana benefit from film production, and that Republicans have also worked to support large-scale entertainment events like the World Cup and the Olympics.
“Maybe this is the president’s way to jumpstart a larger conversation about tax incentives,” she said. “My gut tells me it’s going to morph into a more righteous proposal coming out of the White House so Trump can take the win.”
Earlier this week, Gov. Gavin Newsom called on Trump to support a federal incentive that would be at least 10 times larger than California’s state-level incentive once it’s expanded — or at least $7.5 billion. Such an incentive would disproportionately benefit California, where about 45%-50% of all U.S. production jobs are located. Another 18%-20% are based in New York, while the third largest share — about 6% — are in Georgia.
Schiff has not released details of his proposal, and Friedman said the numbers are still to be determined.
“We’re still discussing what the number would be, and how to pay for this,” she said. “I am working with my colleagues on approaches that are going to work, and I would invite the administration to join us in a serious way.”
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