Proposed U.S. tariffs on foreign-made films have cast doubt on a 30-year plan to turn Australia's Gold Coast region into a global epicenter for the industry, local leaders have said.
U.S. President Trump said on Sunday that his administration would introduce a 100 percent tariff on films produced in "foreign lands."
Responding to the announcement, the chief executive of industry body Screen Producers Australia, Matthew Deaner, said in a statement that there is "no doubt" the proposed tariff would send "shockwaves" worldwide.
The Australian government currently offers a 30 percent tax rebate for large-scale film and television projects that are filmed in the country and a 30 percent rebate for productions that undertake post, digital and visual effects in Australia, with state governments offering additional incentives.
The local council for the Gold Coast, the second-largest city in the northeastern state of Queensland, announced in 2024 a plan in partnership with the U.S.-based Shadowbox Studios to build a state-of-the-art production facility that would include 10 sound stages.
The council said at the time that the studio would contribute 195 million Australian dollars (125.9 million U.S. dollars) to the local economy each year, but Mayor Tom Tate said on Tuesday that Trump's tariff announcement has cast doubt on the region's "30-year vision" to become a world-class film industry epicenter.
"It sends a message that you shouldn't film outside the U.S.A., yet our facilities are world-class and we're trying to become even a better place to film," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
According to the state government, there are 6,000 Queensland jobs in the film industry, which generates about 500 million Australian dollars (322.8 million U.S. dollars) per year for the state economy.
Gold Coast-based film composer Elliot Wheeler told the ABC that the tariff would cause the cost of production in the United States to go up rather than down.
"Everyone's a loser here," he said.
Queensland's Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek has called for the federal government to "take up the fight" against the tariff.
Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, said on Tuesday that the government would make the U.S. administration aware of its opposition to the tariff, and federal Arts Minister Tony Burke said the government would stand up "unequivocally" for the local film industry.
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