![[Clockwise from top left]: 'The Voice Of Hind Rajab', 'A House Of Dynamite', 'Jay Kelly', 'After The Hunt', 'The Smashing Machine'](https://d1nslcd7m2225b.cloudfront.net/Pictures/274x183/1/7/0/1459170_veniceawards_837515.jpg)
California governor Gavin Newsom has hit back at US president Donald Trump’s renewed threat of a 100% tariff on films made outside the US, describing the proposal as “100% stupid.”
Trump’s post today on his Truth Social platform mentioned the California governor, though not by name, describing him as “weak and incompetent” and saying that Newsom’s state has been “particularly hard hit” by film production moving out of the US to other countries.
Posting on X, Newsom’s press office referenced a news report of falling studio stock prices after Trump first introduced the tariff proposal in May: “The Governor tried to explain this to Trump months ago — when this was initially proposed — that his actions will cause irreparable damage to the US film industry. Today’s move is 100% stupid.”
In his own post referencing the stock price report and a reported increase in applications to the California tax credit programme, Newsom wrote: “Almost like we know what we’re doing. Almost like Donald Trump absolutely does not.”
Newsom pushed for the recent expansion of the California credit programme, which has seen its annual funding increase from $330m to $750m. The California Film Commission reported that submissions were up 400% for the first round of credits made available since the expansion came into effect.
Newsom was one of several California Democrats responding to Trump’s latest proposal for the film tariff by reiterating calls for a US national tax credit on production.
US senator for California Adam Schiff posted on X: “I strongly support bringing movie making back to California and the US Congress should pass a bipartisan globally-competitive federal film incentive to bring back production and jobs, rather than levy a tariff that could have unintended and damaging consequences. We have an opportunity to pass a major federal film tax credit. I’m ready to work with this administration and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get it done.
Representative Laura Friedman said in a statement: “I’m relieved President Trump recognizes that we are losing a signature American product: the domestic film & TV industry. However, his 100% tariff on foreign films will raise costs for consumers. As the representative of nearly every major producer in Hollywood and a former film producer, I know what will work, without harming consumers: a national film tax credit. It’s working in California and it will work across the country. I hope the President will join us in pioneering a real solution that levels the playing field with international competition. I’ll keep meeting with lawmakers, labor unions, and industry leaders to make a national film tax credit a reality. Thousands of US jobs, and the LA economy, depend on it.”
Industry groups have not yet responded to Trump’s new tariff call. Immediate action on the call seems unlikely since Trump and other Washington politicians are currently involved in last-minute talks to avoid a government shutdown if a new federal funding agreement is not reached by the end of Tuesday (September 30).
No comments yet