Trump Says US Will Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Movies

The president said the move was necessary to protect the once dominated American film industry, which was once the dominant globally.

President Donald Trump announced on May 4 that he was allowing his administration to impose 100% tariffs on films produced outside the United States.

In the true social post, Trump said the Commerce Department and US trade representatives will soon begin to handle the implementation of collections on all films “produced on foreign lands.”

Trump said the move was necessary to protect the once dominant US film industry, which was once dominated by globally, as he pointed out that some countries were providing incentives to attract international filmmakers and studios.

He warned that the local industry is “deathing very fast” as Hollywood and many other local entertainment businesses are in the midst of devastation.

“This is a coordinated effort by other countries and therefore a national security threat. It is messaging and propaganda, along with everything else,” Trump said. “We want a film made in America again!”

The US film industry has already been affected by Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports after China, the world’s second-largest film market, acted on April 10 to limit the number of American films allowed in the Chinese market as part of a retaliation measure against US tariffs.

The Trump administration is currently imposes a 145% tariff on all Chinese imports, and the Chinese ruling Communist Party of China (CCP) is retaliating with a 125% tariff on US goods.

Trump has imposed tariffs and pressured the CCP to deal with the trade deficit with the US. The White House said on April 15 that China faces mutual tariffs of up to 245% due to retaliatory actions.

In an interview with NBC on May 4, Trump said he has no intention of reducing tariffs on Chinese origin products just to start consultations with Beijing, as the CCP requested.

“At some point, I’m going to lower them. Otherwise you can’t do business with them and they’re very eager to do business,” he said. “Look, their economy is doing really badly. Their economy is falling apart.”

Some analysts believe that China’s restrictions on US-made films are limited to the industry. Seth Shafer, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan, said the number of domestic films released in China is declining.

“Currently, only about 25% of the widespread domestic release films are released in China, and that percentage has steadily declined over time as competition is increasing with China’s local film production industry,” Shafer said.

Regarding domestic films released in China, Schafer said, “usually less than 10% of the film’s total global box office revenue comes from China.”

Earlier this year, Trump appointed three iconic actors, John Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone, as special envoys to Hollywood, in an attempt to revitalize the US film industry.

Trump said the three envoys will serve as his “eyes and ears” in Hollywood, advised him on strategies to stimulate the entertainment industry and restore its previous glory.

According to a March 2024 episode of Epochtv’s “International Round Table” program, the CCP, featuring a panel of experts, recognized Hollywood’s power following the global success of the film “Titanic,” and then used Hollywood ties to whitewash its own abuse of human rights, presenting a favorable image of communist China.

This reported subversion is in contrast to the early days of Hollywood under the Hayes Code, setting strict content guidelines until the erosion of the 1950s, and was replaced by a modern rating system that had reached a more tolerant era in 1968.

Frank Hun, Tom Ojimek and Reuters contributed to the report.