Donald Trump‘s plan to issue 100% tariffs on films and TV shows filmed and made abroad has received more pushback.
A group of more than 100 film and TV bodies from around the world have united to sign an open letter appealing to governments to “safeguard the systems that support independent film and audiovisual creation.”
The letter clearly targets Trump, but also challenges “algorithm-driven platforms, and the growing dominance of global entertainment conglomerates,” along the rise of AI in production. The letter appears to have been timed to be issued on the cusp of the Cannes Film Festival and with the industry still reeling from the tariff proposals.
Those signing include Italy’s Audiovisual Producers Association, Screen Producers Australia, the European Audiovisual Production Association (CEPI), the Canadian Media Producers Association, the European Producers Club, the European Film Academy, France’s Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques, Spain’s Productores Asociados de Televisión de España, Screen Producers Ireland, several writing and directing guilds and other industry bodies.
Trump shocked the entertainment world earlier this month when he announced plans to put a 100% tariff on movies imported from abroad – including U.S. films that shoot abroad. It later emerged TV production was included in the plan, which came after his “special ambassador” to Hollywood, Jon Voight, had unveiled a report seeking to save the entertainment industry.
The plan has gone down as well as one might imagine internationally, compounding fears that Trump will further challenge the European Union’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive, local content quotas and requirements that streamers invest portions of their revenues in local markets such as Canada.
An open letter titled ‘A Global Declaration for Artistic Freedom, Cultural Diversity and Cultural Sovereignty’ has now been issued. This letter begins by noting how public funding, cultural policy and regulation have fostered independent production, saying: “We, creators, professionals, companies and organizations from the film and audiovisual sector, along with culturally-engaged citizens, unite to defend out right to tell our own stories – stories rooted in our cultures, languages and identities – and ensure that people everywhere can continue to access and enjoy them.”
While it does not directly name Trump, who recently killed funding for PBS and NPR through an executive order, it goes on to state: “Today, the support for independent film and audiovisual storytelling is under growing threat.
“We are witnessing increasingly aggressive attempts by powerful political and corporate actors to dismantle the regulatory protections that ensure the diversity and accessibility of cultural expression.”
The letter states these actions are taking place alongside wider attacks on pluralism and freedom of expression,” and adds that, “if they succeed, it will become increasingly difficult for diverse voices to be heard, for the whole ecosystem to create, produce, distribute, promote and exhibit films and audiovisual works successfully, and for local cultures to thrive.”
The signatories are demanding their artistic freedoms are upheld and “firmly” opposing “any political, legal or economic initiative that seeks to undermine national or international rules” supporting that framework. They also call on their governments to reinforce the UNESCO Convention of the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
“We call on all governments to stand firm and safeguard the systems that support independent film and audiovisual creation so that culture, creativity and democratic access to diverse stories for the screen can continue to flourish.”
Over the weekend, UK entertainment union Equity said it was “industrial-action ready” if talks with producers body Pact and the global streamers collapse. Equity did not sign today’s open letter.
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