President Donald Trump on Monday announced a 100% tariff on movies made overseas, saying he was taking action because the motion picture industry has been “stolen” from the United States.
“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 on his Truth Social platform Monday morning. “California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit! 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.”
The president did not specify in his social media post when the tariff would take effect or how it would be enforced.
Trump initially threatened to hit foreign-made movies with a 100% tariff in May, arguing then that the “Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death” because other countries “are offering all sorts of incentives to draw” filmmakers and studios away from the U.S.
“This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat,” he said. “It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”
Hollywood was reportedly taken aback when Trump first flirted with the idea of the tariff in May.
“On first blush, it’s shocking and would represent a virtually complete halt of production,” one industry insider told CNN at the time. “But in reality, he has no jurisdiction to do this, and it’s too complex to enforce.”
Jay Sures, vice chairman of United Talent Agency told CNN in May that American actors and directors generally prefer to work close to home, but “the fact is, it’s cheaper for Hollywood studios to pay for everyone to get on planes [and] pay for hotels because the cost of labor, lack of rebates and the ability to make things overseas is infinitely cheaper.”
If Trump follows through with the threatened tariff, it would mark the fist time he would be imposing a duty on what amounts to a service instead of a material good.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
