President Trump announced a new round of surprise tariffs Sunday, this time on the entertainment industry. "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," he posted on Truth Social Sunday night. "WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!" The Los Angeles Times reports that movie executives contacted by the newspaper "privately wondered" how such a tariff would be imposed. No further details were forthcoming from the Trump administration, but the Guardian reports that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick quickly issued his own social media post stating, "We're on it."
As CNN points out, as intellectual property rather than actual physical goods, movies are not currently subject to any tariffs, but "some services can be subject to certain non-tariff trade barriers, such as regulations and tax incentives," so that may be what Trump is referring to. Also complicating matters is the fact that while movies sometimes film in other locations (filming is in fact down in California this year), post-production often still happens in the US.
"The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death," Trump's post asserted. "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!" (Trump was busy Sunday night.)
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