US President Donald Trump’s May 4, 2025, announcement suggesting a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the US has left Hollywood — and the international film industry — bewildered. Downstream, the language industry might wonder how its role in localizing content for audiences worldwide could be affected.

Though the White House was quick to temper Trump’s statement, clarifying that no final decisions on such a tariff have been made, the announcement shined a spotlight on trends that have led production overseas, without answering questions about how a tariff might be implemented. 

Trump originally wrote on social media that he would authorize the relevant government agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, to begin the process of imposing a 100% tariff on all films produced abroad and then sent to the US. 

Unlike other, more tangible products, it is unclear at what point tariffs would be applied to films, which are typically transmitted digitally, as opposed to entering the country via a port.

Many questions remain: Would tariffs apply only to films shown in movie theatres, or would streaming services also contend with tariffs? And how would the tariff be calculated — based on production costs or box office revenue? 

And, while Trump’s intention seems to be to encourage American filmmakers and media companies to produce films in the US, it is unclear how a US film will be defined, whether based on the script, the director, the talent, where it was shot, or the source of funding. 

Of course, other countries could respond by placing their own tariffs on American films, potentially driving more losses and fewer productions overall, versus the intended goal of more projects in the US. 

Trade and Translations

Trump’s statement described the US film industry as dying a “very fast death,” but the numbers tell a different, more nuanced, story. 

Certainly, Hollywood has faced numerous challenges in recent years, from the COVID pandemic in 2020 to extended labor strikes to California wildfires. The performance of language service providers (LSPs) specialized in media localization often mirrors those ups and downs, whether in the form of missing earnings projections or seeing slimmer margins due to lower activity levels.

Production has indeed been moving away from Hollywood. Research firm ProdPro found that, in 2023, about half of spending by US producers on movie and television projects with budgets over USD 40m was spent outside the US. This coincides with nonprofit FilmLA’s finding that film and television production in LA has fallen by nearly 40% over the last decade.

At the same time, a 2023 report by the Motion Picture Association said the US film and television industry has a “positive balance of trade in every major market in the world,” exporting more than three times what it imports. 

The LA Times reported that films “often collect as much as 60% of their revenue from international audiences,” meaning that tariffs on films produced outside the US could impact demand for media localization in several possible ways.

Films produced outside the US by non-American filmmakers and production companies might simply decide it is too expensive to bring their films to the US, reducing or even eliminating the need for American English subtitles and dubbing. Of course, if they plan to distribute the films to other English-speaking countries, this may be a moot point. 

Most of the US media companies filming overseas work on English-language films, which do not require subtitles or dubbing for a general American audience, at least in theatres. 

But subtitles and dubbing are often expected for content included in a streaming service’s catalogue. Depending on how the tariff is applied, movies filmed overseas by American companies might not be made available in the US, to avoid exorbitant fees. 

Of course, there is also the possibility that American companies continue to film overseas and release their movies in America, opting instead for a smaller number of titles to compensate for the additional expense.

Whether or not the film is released in the US, English-language films distributed internationally will still require dubs and subtitles for non-English-speaking audiences. 

In a May 8th trading update, publicly listed media localizer ZOO Digital told investors that “the Board also notes the recent announcement from the US government relating to potential 100% tariffs on films made outside the United States. The Board is monitoring the tariff proposals and engagement with the industry and will provide a further update in due course.” ZOO added that “ it is too early to form a view on the impact on ZOO’s operations or that of its customers.”