Coalition of over 100 film and TV groups issue open letter in wake of Trump’s film imports tariffs plan

A coalition of more than 100 film and television organisations has urged global governments and European Union institutions to protect the independent screen industry, warning of growing threats to cultural diversity and artistic freedom amid new global trade tensions.

The open letter — launched on Monday (12.05.25), the day before the Cannes Film Festival opened — is titled ‘Our Stories, Our Voices: A Global Declaration for Artistic Freedom, Cultural Diversity and Cultural Sovereignty’.

It was issued in response to escalating pressure on national and international policies designed to support independent film production, particularly following 78-year-old U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to impose tariffs on film imports.

The signatories span five continents and include the European Producers Club, which represents leading independent film and TV drama producers across continental Europe, Irish Equity, the Independent Directors Association of South Africa, and the Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada.

“We are witnessing increasingly aggressive attempts by powerful political and corporate actors to dismantle the regulatory protections that ensure the diversity and accessibility of cultural expression,” the declaration said.

It added: “This includes direct challenges to essential protections such as the Audiovisual Media Services Directive in the European Union, proposed local content obligations in Australia, screen quotas in Asia, and requirements that streaming services contribute to domestic production in Canada, among others.”

In Europe, Trump’s proposed trade policy has prompted renewed lobbying by U.S. film studios against the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS), which requires international streaming platforms to reinvest a portion of their revenue into local content.

The Motion Picture Association — representing Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Amazon Prime Video/MGM, Sony Pictures, Universal, and Warner Bros. — sent a memorandum to the United States Trade Representative in March, before the announcement of the new tariffs, calling the investment requirements in countries such as France, Germany and Italy “disproportionate”.

Global industry groups have stressed they “firmly oppose any political, legal, or economic initiative that seeks to undermine national or international rules designed to uphold artistic freedom and cultural diversity in the film and audiovisual sector”.

Their latest appeal urges world leaders to “stand firm and safeguard the systems that support independent film and audiovisual creation so that culture, creativity, and democratic access to diverse stories for the screen can continue to flourish”.