The U.S. Congress is preparing a 20% federal incentive for film and television productions, which could reach 30% with various bonuses. The measure has the backing of Donald Trump and seeks to compete with programs in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and other countries that use tax incentives to attract productions, investment, and jobs.

The proposal includes a tax credit on labor costs and could be combined with incentives offered by individual states, bringing the total benefit for some productions above 60%. The logic is explicit: film is also an industry capable of attracting capital, creating jobs, and multiplying economic activity.

The contrast with Argentina is stark. While the United States is trying to bring back productions that are moving overseas, Javier Milei’s government continues to defund Argentine cinema and dismantle INCAA’s mechanisms for producing films and attracting investment. Carlos Pirovano, appointed by Milei despite having no professional background in the film sector or previous experience working in the audiovisual industry, remains at the helm of the agency.

The paradox is difficult to ignore: while the world’s leading economies compete to attract productions through public incentives, Milei and Pirovano are moving in the opposite direction, weakening an industry that Argentina already has, that creates jobs, and that exports talent.

The debate exposes the deeply ideological nature of the government’s policy. Instead of asking how to make Argentine cinema more competitive and turn it into a tool for attracting international investment, the government has chosen to treat it as an expendable expense. The rest of the world is doing exactly the opposite.