New York Filmmakers Skeptical of President’s Foreign Film Tariff

On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced he had authorized imposing a 100 percent tariff on all foreign films. Filmmakers and local film commissions in New York say it’s a bad idea — and infeasible.

The president says the movie industry in the U.S. is dying. He claims other countries are offering incentives that are “propaganda” and a “concerted effort” that is “therefore, a National Security threat.” He directed that a 100 percent tariff be imposed on all movies “produced in Foreign Lands.”

Kingdom County Productions co-founder Jay Craven says the tariff would have a chilling effect on all on filmmakers.

“It will restrict the flow of films from other countries to this country. It will also put a penalty on filmmakers who want to shoot American films outside the United States. It will certainly result in fewer films getting made. It also is likely to trigger a retaliation for American films, including films by independent filmmakers being able to access foreign markets,” Craven says. “Especially coupled with the recent cutbacks to the National Endowment for the Arts it’s really a turbulent time for the arts in general right now. Film in particular is such a precarious enterprise. What it takes to get a film made, cobbling the money together, trying to get it released. All of this is so difficult if you’re working independently and outside the mainstream that this will only have a crimping effect.”

Albany County Film Commissioner Debby Goedeke says a tariff results in negative results regardless of the sector. As far as the film industry, she says new incentives should be created to make the U.S. competitive with other countries.

“Look what they’re giving away. It’s a little bit less expensive to film. I think they give greater tax incentives. So all of that adds up to a film production. Anything that can cut their costs, especially now. Maybe five or six years ago they weren’t so worried about location fees. But now with the economy and everything the way it is, they’re taking notice of any single thing that they can do to cut costs,” Goedeke points out.

With the popular Apple TV series “Severance” just one example, Goedeke notes that New York state has been successful in luring filmmakers by offering tax credits.

“We had a banner year last year here in Albany with film productions and a lot had to do with the film tax credits and the incentives that are available. And they came and shot in upstate New York. We had Paramount Pictures, HBO and Hallmark and they contributed significantly to the economy,” Goedeke says. “So I think we have to look at ways to keep incentives here in the United States to keep people working, to add that economic impact to our communities. That’s what I think we need to look at.”

In addition to promoting the Adirondacks as a venue and assisting regional filmmakers, Adirondack Film shows a number of foreign films during its Lake Placid Film Festival and monthly series. Chair Gary Smith says the idea of a tariff is somewhat alarming and is curious how the value of a foreign film will be determined for a tariff.

“Thirty percent of our films that we show at the festival historically have been foreign films. One of the ones that technically was a foreign film that we showed last year was made in Germany and in fact it was about Nathan Farb,” recalls Smith. “So that makes me wonder is that a foreign film about a U.S. subject or is a U.S. film made by a German filmmaker. What are you really dealing with and how do you place value on it and how do you put a hundred percent tariff on it?”

President Trump authorized the Department of Commerce and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to impose the tariff. The Associated Press reports that the White House said it was figuring out how to comply.

Image: The Callicoon Theatre in Callicoon, NY (Credit: Callicoon Theatre)