Current Events > Trump Says He Will Implement 100% Tariffs on Films Produced Outside the U.S.

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Donald Trump took to Truth Social Sunday to announce he is authorizing the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to impose a 100% tariff on any and all movies produced in foreign lands.
In a move that sent shockwaves through Hollywood, Trump deemed foreign productions a national security threat to the American movie industry, adding that they not only draw filmmakers out to other markets but also bring messaging and propaganda into the United States.

The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death, Trump wrote. Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda! Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!

Studio executives convened emergency calls after Trump issued his declaration, though there is enormous uncertainty about whether the president has the authority to institute these tariffs, as well as how they would work practically. It was also unclear what the impact would be on the many films that shoot overseas, a group that includes sequels to major franchises such as Avatar, The Avengers, and Mission: Impossible. Studios were hoping to get more information about whether certain films that had already been completed or were already in production would be exempt. There was also confusion about why the president has singled out movies, while not mentioning television production.

As Trumps social media comment suggests, many Hollywood productions have moved to Canada and overseas to countries including the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Hungary because they offer compelling financial incentives that help lower budgets. But movies also shoot internationally because they want to film in exotic locations, something that applies to globe-trotting franchises such as James Bond and Fast and Furious.

The tariffs are being announced a week before Hollywood decamps for the Cannes Film Festival, where many U.S. productions are looking to sell foreign distribution rights and where film packages involving top talent are hoping to secure studio backing. Studio executives will convene in the Riviera facing an avalanche of questions from their foreign colleagues, who may be more reticent to do business.

It was not immediately known whether Trumps statement could also apply to films produced by other countries and shown in the U.S.

Trumps last move on Hollywood was naming Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight as special ambassadors to the American film industry, although no significant developments have been made by the trio since their appointment in January.

Although Trump claims that Hollywood is down for the count, 2025 has actually seen a rebound in box office numbers since last year. Overall domestic revenues are up 15.8% head of 2024. Though still 31% behind 2019, hits like A Minecraft Movie, Sinners and Thunderbolts* bring hope of closing the gap. Production, however, has struggled to come back forcefully after the 2023 actors and writers strikes. Forty percent fewer films and TV shows have been shot in the United States since a deal between the unions and the studios was reached. At the same time, media conglomerates have instituted widespread cost-cutting measures that have led companies to trim their programming and film slates.

How the fuck do you put a tariff on a movie? Does Trump think movies are shipped through cargo's containers straight to theaters or something? In fact, how the hell would this even be enforceable?

And what exactly does produced mean in this context? Actual foreign films that are made entirely outside of the United States? Or does this mean that you cant even make a domestic film that includes material shot outside of the United States? What exactly is it thats being tariffed, and how? Just what?

As someone who works very closely in the entertainment/movie hollywood industry, this really sounds like something Trump just tweeted on a whim because I highly doubt his administration worked out all the kinks to this.

Whatever the case is, it's the first step towards banning all outside media.

They dont work out any of the stupid shit they talk about. Its all just pure id.

Anime?

Solar_Crimson posted...

Whatever the case is, it's the first step towards banning all outside media.

This is what I'd be most concerned about. First entertainment, then news...

Granted, it would be a lot more difficult to implement that NOW, with how entrenched the Internet is in our culture already, but the fact that they'd potentially be attempting it in the first place is just one more blaring alarm in a never ending series of blaring alarms...

SaikyoStyle posted...

They dont work out any of the stupid shit they talk about. Its all just pure id.

This might just sound like a case of Donald over hearing one of his constituents that not all Hollywood films are filmed in Hollywood and he just decided to make some big ass tweet about it.

Prestoff posted...

This might just sound like a case of Donald over hearing one of his constituents that not all Hollywood films are filmed in Hollywood and he just decided to make some big ass tweet about it.

Either that or he heard someone compliment a foreign movie and thought "Let me get into a pissing contest for no reason"

First off, why?? And second, putting aside the fact that Trump is a dumbass, someone please make the connection between films and national security threat??

... Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z!
Please pay the 100% tariff to continue

StarFighters76 posted...

someone please make the connection between films and national security threat??

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4d24e086.jpg

New Black Panther film going to be hit with a 100% tariff for being in Wakanda

StarFighters76 posted...

First off, why?? And second, putting aside the fact that Trump is a dumbass, someone please make the connection between films and national security threat??

Because there may be some truth in said movies, and we can't have truth in this country anymore, only misinformation.

Thus it's a national security threat.

I would say that this might cause the 4chan crowd of trump supporters to finally revolt, but they all pirate their anime anyway, so they won't care.

Prestoff posted...

How the fuck do you put a tariff on a movie?

An extra tax on cinemas? Got to find a way to put even more people out of a job I guess.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Entirely sure you want to cast the "flooding the board with extraneous shit" stone, necrobumper?

StarFighters76 posted...

First off, why?? And second, putting aside the fact that Trump is a dumbass, someone please make the connection between films and national security threat??

Worried someone in another country with make a movie like (the great dictator ) by Chaplin and make people think * and import it

Hes a 5 year old surrounded by 8 year olds. Neither group are known for thinking beyond the surface level (and sometimes not even that).

Jesus fuckin Christ.

someone must have told him that a lot of TV shows and movies are filmed in Canada because they get tax breaks and it's generally cheaper.

Better not affect Netflix because the single best thing about it are the foreign movies/series.

Season 2 of The Devil's Plan starts tomorrow. So pumped.

Sandalorn posted...

Better not affect Netflix because the single best thing about it are the foreign movies/series.

Season 2 of The Devil's Plan starts tomorrow. So pumped.

Quite frankly? This is probably more likely to increase foreign production rather than reduce it. Remember, the USA is no longer the largest film market. Once upon a time what would be brought in from the USA would dwarf the earnings in the rest of the world but that's just no longer the case any more thanks to EU and China.

This could absolutely backfire and result in production companies just moving completely out of the States. Better to work out of Canada, New Zealand, Europe and China than in the States.

That's assuming he actually finds a way to tariff movie productions which doesn't even really make sense as a thing you can apply tariffs to.

You could have just said "no, I am not," it would have saved time.

Faux concern is a boring tactic, do better.

And speaking of "weird dishonest schtick," you're still failing to distract from the initial charge of "you flood the board with far more useless shit than TC does."

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/5/5b780bd7.png

Gee, i guess all those Hollywood billionaires voted for the wrong person huh?

Still boring, and check your own active posts.

Have fun calling me unhinged as you enter year 8 or so of dedicating a solid hour of every day to necrobumping, I'll leave you to this pearl-clutching distraction.

He says stupid shit all the time. Wanna bet they will reopen Alcatraz?