Yesterday, on September 29th, current president Donald Trump stated that he would propose a 100% tariff on all films produced outside of the United States and intended to be sold within the country. He has stated that the tariffs are part of his plan to fix the “never-ending problem” that is affecting the Hollywood movie industry. Trump said the following quote yesterday on a Truth Social Post.
“Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing “candy from a baby.” 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 first announced this idea in May of this year, presenting the idea without many details on how it will be done or what all the repercussions of such a decision will be. Even now, it is unclear how exactly these tariffs will be enforced, especially for films that are made in several different countries, including the United States.
If this tariff is enacted, it would be the first time a tariff would be imposed on a service like a streaming service rather than a good. Movies have increasingly been released primarily for streaming services as movie ticket sales have been down.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, the movie industry took a massive hit from lockdown and the social distancing, limiting the number of consumers who could go to the movies or would be willing to. Consumers found that it was more convenient to watch movies on a streaming service in the comfort of their own home.
While Trump frames this tariff as a way to protect the American filmmaking market, the move raises more questions than it answers. I will be watching the situation with interest to see how this might affect our modern media market.
