Trump renews threat of 100% tariff on foreign-made film

Posting on his TruthSocial platform, Trump said the film business had been "stolen" from the US and that he would impose tariffs on "any and all movies" that are made outside America.

He did not provide any details regarding the legal authority he would use to enact the tariff or how such a tax would work in practice.

"Our movie-making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing 'candy from a baby'" Trump wrote.

"California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit!" he added in reference to Gavin Newsom.

"Therefore, in order to solve this long-time, never-ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States."

Trump floated the idea of a tariff on foreign films in May, saying at the time that the US movie industry was “dying a very fast death”. However, he offered few details before seemingly leaving the idea to fizzle out.

The proposal caused confusion in Hollywood due to the increasingly international nature of film production and the fact that films are not a product that can be taxed at ports.

Studio executives told Reuters earlier this year that they were "flummoxed" by how a movie tariff might be enforced, given that modern films often use production, financing, post-production and visual effects spread across multiple countries.

Some legal and trade analysts argue that films are a form of intellectual property and part of the global trade in services, an area where the US runs a surplus.

Co-productions with foreign studios have also become more common, adding to doubts about how such films would be classified.

Figures from the Motion Picture Association show Hollywood generated 2.3m jobs and $278bn in sales in 2022.

However, the North American box office was worth $8.6bn in 2024, or just 75% of 2019 levels ($11.4bn), as viewers continue to opt to watch at home instead of in cinemas.

Trump did not mention in his post whether television series, which account for a growing share of Hollywood production, would be subject to any tariff.

* This article was originally published on BusinessPlus.ie.