Donald Trump is ramping up his controversial tariffs with a surprise new target: foreign films.
The president announced on Sunday that he plans on slapping a 100 percent tariff on movies made outside of the U.S.
“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.”
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The president declared efforts by other countries to enhance their own movie industries as a “concerted effort” and “therefore, a National Security threat.”
It was not immediately clear how such a tariff would be enforced, and whether the move would apply to streaming services as well as theatrical releases.
“It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!” Trump added. “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!”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was quick to respond on X: “We’re on it,” he wrote.
Trump has largely left Hollywood alone since entering his second administration. He appointed Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, and Jon Voight as “Special Hollywood Ambassadors” in January, but little has so far come of it. Neither publicly commented on the proposed new tariffs Sunday night.
Voight, however, is said to have been working behind the scenes in recent weeks, meeting with various union reps and studio executives to devise a plan to save America’s movie business. The plan, according to a Deadline report days ago, involved a federal tax incentive.
Despite suffering setbacks over the last few years, Hollywood has seen a reversal in fortunes in 2025, according to Variety. Box office numbers are so far ahead by 15.8 percent on 2024 thanks to hits including A Minecraft Movie and Sinners.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Sunday, Trump bemoaned the “threat” facing American filmmakers.
“Other nations have been stealing the moviemaking capabilities from the United States,” Trump said.
“I said to a couple people, ‘What do you think?’ I’ve done some very strong research over the last week and we’re making very few movies now, Hollywood is being destroyed.”
Trump also pointed the finger at “grossly incompetent” California Gov. Gavin Newsom who “allowed that to happen,” before adding other countries “have stolen the movie industry.”
“If they’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States, then we should have a tariff on movies that come in,” Trump added.
