Beyond the announcement effect, Donald Trump’s protectionist inclinations with regard to the American film industry could redraw cards in world production, with contrasting consequences for countries like Morocco, which has become a prized decor in major Hollywood productions in recent years.
In an ever more flammable political climate in Washington, Donald Trump has just revived an unexpected offensive: imposing customs duties of 100 % on films shot outside of American territory. If this measure, initially mentioned as an economic and cultural coup de force, now seems to be the subject of a certain relaxation, it remains a strong signal addressed to the globalized entertainment industries.
« I’m not trying to harm the industry, I want to help it “, He said on May 5 at the White House, in an attempt to defuse the growing concern of a sector already weakened by deep changes. According to CNBC, the president plans an upcoming meeting with the great actors of the Hollywood environment in order to ” ensure their satisfaction ». An approach that contrasts with the vehemence of his first online statements, where he accused foreign countries of siphoning American creativity and of exploiting the weaknesses of local governance, targeting the Governor Gavin Newsom and California, the historic cradle of American cinema.
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At this stage, the American administration has not yet made any final decision. Kush Desai, advisor to the White House, confirmed that all the options remained open to respond to the presidential directive: to give Hollywood its luster while protecting the country’s strategic interests. The genesis of this measure – a project suggested by actor Jon Voight and his manager Steven Paul – more translates an ideological reflex than a real sectoral consultation. The contours of the tariff plan remain nebulous: will it only include foreign films, or also the American productions shot partly abroad?
It is precisely this ambiguity that makes certainties of countries flicker like Morocco, which has established itself in recent years as a privileged destination for international filming.
Morocco, partner of the shadow of Hollywood
From the dunes of Ouarzazate with arid decorations of the eastern Sahara, the Cherifian kingdom has become an essential cinematographic territory, welcoming the teams of large budget films like Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, or more recently John Wick 4. This attractiveness is based on well identified assets: a great diversity of landscapes, a local workforce, Political stability appreciated, and especially competitive tax incentives.
-But it is precisely this model of attractiveness that the Trump doctrine seems to want to question. If the threats of sanctions aim above all the American studios which relocate their filming to reduce costs, the risk of seeing these productions give up decorations like those of Morocco, for fear of tax reprisals, cannot be excluded.
Opportunity or setback for the Moroccan ecosystem?
In the short term, a rigid application of American customs policy could slow down the arrival of certain American shoots in Morocco, especially those whose budget is based on tight tax arbitration. This would represent a significant loss for local professionals – technicians, extras, rental of equipment – who depend strongly on this Hollywood windfall.
However, another hypothesis is emerging. If American studios came to turn away from certain countries deemed too exposed to these measures, Morocco could precisely take advantage of its intermediate position. By strengthening its bilateral agreements, clarifying its host policy and consolidating its infrastructure, the kingdom could become a strategic alternative for European or Asian co -productions seeking to avoid the constraints of the American market.
Cinema has long been a lever for influence as much as an economic sector. Trump’s project, by targeting the offshoring of filming, reactivates a line of fracture between cultural sovereignty and globalized market logic. But to want to make Hollywood too much a nationalist bastion, the White House also takes the risk of isolating its own actors from the planetary dynamics of creation.
The impact of the Trump decree thus goes beyond American borders. He challenges states which, like Morocco, have built a strategy of attractiveness on the export of their landscapes and their cinematographic skills. This new episode of cultural protectionism could ultimately be the catalyst for a reorganization of the world cinema card – with its winners, its losers, and its gray areas.
