Trump’s film tariffs: NZ industry voices say don’t panic - just yet

Tuesday, 6 May 2025

Minecraft was made in part in New Zealand. The blockbuster would have immediately attracted 100% tariffs from Donald Trump, if his movie tariff plan was enacted.

The New Zealand film sector is keeping calm and carrying on in the wake of new tariff threats on film and TV production made in non-US countries, some saying studio lawyers would likely fight any such move “tooth and nail”.

In a post on Sunday night in the US on his Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump said he has authorised the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative to slap a 100% tariff “on any and all Movies coming into our country that are produced in Foreign Lands”.

“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,' he wrote, complaining that other countries “are offering all sorts of incentives” to draw filmmakers and studios away from the US. 'This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”

Incentive programmes, including those offered in New Zealand, have driven film production out of the US and into all sorts of foreign locales where costs can be lower and appropriate scenery easier to get to than the equivalent in the US.

Graeme Tuckett is the owner and operator of film crew directory services Crew Wellington and Crew Auckland, and is also a writer, broadcaster and teacher of film. He said his first reaction was that it didn’t seem like anything to be totally concerned about - yet.

“If there were any details of such a policy ever released, then maybe I’d be concerned, but my feeling is that if such a move was made there would be a battalion of Hollywood lawyers that would say ‘yes we are using overseas locations but we are still a US company, therefore it is still an American film’,” he told The Post.

“If it was made by Fox or Warner Brothers or Paramount, it’s still an American film, even if they come to New Zealand and use some of our facilities and some of our people.”

Tuckett said it was unrealistic for the US film industry to make everything at home. “If it was realistic for them to do that, they’d do it already.”

There were reasons that went beyond cost for filming in New Zealand (or Australia, South Africa or South America) said Tuckett, although personnel were paid at lower rates than their highly unionised US counterparts.

But there was also the fact that in the Northern Hemisphere winter, the Southern Hemisphere offered counter-seasonal long daylight hours. There was also the fact that this country offered all sorts of international-looking locales within a few hours drive of one another - Queenstown, said Tuckett, could offer a Hawaii-like beach or Swiss Alps-like hills in close proximity.

Vital contributor

Not everyone was as sanguine as Tuckett. Nick Hill, chief executive of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Auckland Council’s economic development agency that has a large workstream attracting and facilitating film productions in Auckland, said today’s announcement could have far-reaching implications for the city and New Zealand's screen industry.

“The screen industry is a vital, high-value contributor to Auckland’s regional economy, generating $1.7 billion and employing 8400 people,” Hill said.

“Beyond the thousands of jobs the screen sector supports, it fosters international partnerships that benefit all parties involved including US studios, distributors, and creatives who routinely collaborate with New Zealand-based talent and production companies.

Greenstone TV CEO Rachel Antony said the e-commerce moratorium currently in place would have to be removed before tariffs could be put on film.

“No official details have been shared at this point, and it is not clear how such a tariff would be imposed.”

Rachel Antony, the chief executive of Greenstone TV, said her read on immediate tariffs was they would not be feasible because of an e-commerce moratorium currently in place.

The moratorium is a longstanding agreement among members of the World Trade Organisation not to impose tariffs on digital trade – in other words, e-books, film, music, videogames, software, or other services sold over the internet to customers in other markets are completely tariff-free.

This primarily benefited the US at present as it created the most content.

The moratorium was first agreed by WTO members in 1998 and has been renewed ever since, and latterly at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in February 2024. But it will terminate sometime in March 2026 and will need a consensus of countries to continue. Several WTO members (including India, Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil) currently strongly oppose the continuation of the moratorium, believing they are missing out on valuable revenues from it.

“In the current trading environment, the screen sector has allowed both US and NZ screen businesses to benefit, but the playing field tilted in US’s favour because it provides the most streamed content,” which is currently untariffed, Antony said.

Cautious

PM Christopher Luxon calls New Zealand’s film industry “world class” and says he’s advocating globally amid talk of tariffs by Trump that could hit NZ's screen sector hard.

Greenstone exports a lot of product to the world and wasn’t affected by the announcement, because TV content does not appear to be included in what Trump is proposing.

That “could change again tomorrow”, Antony said.

Annie Murray, chief executive of the New Zealand Film Commission, said the organisation had seen the recent tweet from President Trump regarding tariffs and non-US films but felt it was too early to gauge the impact.

“We’re in the process of speaking with our international partners about what the implications could be. We’re mindful, however, this is an evolving situation and it’s too early to speculate on what this could mean,” she told The Post.

Prime Minister Chris Luxon addressed the issue at Monday’s post-cabinet press conference where he said he’d not given any thought to increasing rebates to US companies to keep them coming to New Zealand should tariffs be applied on offshore productions.

“We've just seen a post from the US President. As I said, I don't get into the habit of commenting on everything the President says, I'm focused on New Zealand and growing all sectors, with as many countries as I can, expanding trade, investment, as you're seeing us do over the last 18 months.”

He did say on the recent trip to India he had spoken to Bollywood actors and directors, making the case for more movies to be made in New Zealand.

“They have made movies here in the last 20 years or so. And my question to them was, ‘what else would it take for you to do more productions here in New Zealand?’ And they're very, very open to it.”