In May 2025, actor Jon Voight inspired President Donald Trump’s to propose to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made films, a move supposedly aimed at revitalising the U.S. film industry.
Now, he has spoken out on what happened.
Voight, appointed by Trump as the “ambassador to Hollywood” – a job that didn’t previously exist and was simply made up by the President – spoke to Variety and explained that the plan was created in order to restore jobs for American film workers.
FilmLA says that the industry in the state has seen a 40% decline in filmmaking over the past decade as productions shift to foreign countries with attractive tax incentives.
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‘In all of the interactions we’ve had, politics has never come up’
“Every studio has a lot of smart people, and they have manoeuvred the write-offs and the gifts that are being given out throughout the world to lure people to different countries”, he said of the incentives. “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.”
He also added that Donald Trump has been treated unfairly by Hollywood and claims that apart from their plan together, there is no politics involved: “There’s been a battle, but now it’s time to put that aside. And I must say, in all of the interactions we’ve had, politics has never come up. Never.”
“This shouldn’t be political,” he added. “I don’t know the political identities of the people we’ve talked to. We’ve talked to a lot of people here. I don’t distinguish them on their party affiliation. And if we can come up with [a plan], he’ll back us. He wants us to be the Hollywood of old … If we all come together, I believe we have a bright future.”
The President, as is the way, took to social media to post his thoughts. The unexpected move caused huge confusion within the world of entertainment, and the White House has since backtracked on what he said, confirming that despite the loud noises, “no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made”.
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Even so, were Trump to go ahead with Voight’s masterplan, it’s unclear how they would work. Films made in Hollywood regularly have scenes recorded across the globe, with outside locations in foreign countries often used… obviously. Again, it seems a Trump supporter has had a taste of what the food is like in the White House kitchen and simply wants an extra plate.
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