Donald Trump has reportedly to impose a 100% tariff on all films produced outside the U.S. While this may sound like a bold move to protect Hollywood, it reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of how modern filmmaking.
Let’s get one thing straight: VFX is not tied to geography. It’s not like manufacturing where raw materials are imported, assembled, and shipped back.
VFX is made of pixels and talent and talent is global. A film shot in Los Angeles could have VFX done in Montreal, compositing in Mumbai, Matchmove in Malaysia, and color grading in the UK.
How exactly do you tariff that?
Let’s run through a typical VFX pipeline. A movie is shot in Atlanta. Plates go to London for tracking, to Chennai for roto, to Vancouver for compositing, and back to L.A. for final delivery.
Where exactly does that movie get “made”? Are we going to check metadata on every .exr file?
The irony? Many American studios outsource VFX work overseas because of U.S. tax credit loopholes and cost savings. VFX is already a race to the bottom, with artists underpaid and overworked worldwide.
Instead of tariffs, maybe the should fix the actual problem: the broken VFX industry. Invest in American VFX infrastructure. Mandate fair wages and overtime pay. Make it competitive to stay local not by punishing artists overseas, but by valuing the ones at home.
