Trump threatens 100% tariffs on foreign-made films

President Trump revived his threat Monday to impose a 100% tariff on movies made outside the U.S., saying a once-iconic industry has been taken from Americans like “candy from a baby.”

Mr. Trump’s proposal combined his nostalgia for golden age America, his mission to keep jobs in the U.S. and his general disdain for California Gov. Gavin Newsom and foreign films.

“California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit!” he wrote on Truth Social about Hollywood. “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.”

Mr. Trump threatened in May to place tariffs on foreign-made movies.

On Monday, the president did not say when the tariff would take effect. Nor did he outline what aspect of film or film production would be subject to a levy.

Still, the push reflects Mr. Trump’s wide-ranging use of tariffs and his hope to revive Hollywood and the U.S. movie industry. Canada and other countries use tax incentives to siphon production from the U.S., and American box office receipts have recently sagged.

Mr. Trump has also complained about the outsize influence of foreign films. When South Korean movie “Parasite” won the Oscar for best picture in 2020, he said: “What the hell was that all about?”

“We’ve got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of that, they give them ‘best movie of the year,’” he said at the time. “Was it good? I don’t know.”

Tariffs are taxes imposed on foreign products as they enter U.S. markets, yet Mr. Trump’s targeting of movies is unique.

Unlike a simple, physical product, films often involve entities from several countries and multiple layers of intellectual property and digital production.

It was unclear whether movies would be taxed simply for shooting scenes overseas — foreign landscapes may be essential to the visuals or plot of the film, such as in the James Bond or “Mission Impossible” movies — or whether the tariff would apply only to films that accept financial incentives from favored filming locales such as Canada, New Zealand and Britain.

“Any tariffs would require films to have a clear national identity,” film industry analyst Stephen Follows wrote on his website after Mr. Trump issued his tariff threat in May. “Currently, the United States has no formal definition of what makes a film American. There is no certification process, no threshold of domestic content, and no single agency responsible for determining national status.”

Mr. Follows, using IMDB’s “country of origin” data, found that roughly one-third of all movies in the 2000-2024 period could be classified as American.

However, Mr. Trump’s threat reflects a clear and real concern about the offshoring of entertainment gigs.

Some film industry groups say the foreign incentives have caused certain film jobs, including camera operators and other crew positions, to dry up in the U.S.

“Our movie-making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby,’” Mr. Trump wrote Monday.

Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, has pushed to increase funding for the state’s tax incentive program, hoping to lure moviemaking back to its epicenter.

The governor wasn’t impressed by Mr. Trump’s pitch to tax foreign films. He said the costs would trickle down to moviegoers.

“You’re already paying more for eggs, coffee, toys, shoes, electricity, furniture, cars, and flights,” Mr. Newsom wrote on X. “Now, Trump wants to raise taxes to see the movies. PAY MORE AND ENJOY NOTHING. That’s Donald Trump’s America.”

The movie industry has lost some of its mojo in recent years. Box office receipts peaked at nearly $12 billion in 2018 before taking a nosedive during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

Gross sales at the movies recovered, reaching $8.5 billion last year, but they haven’t reached the $9 billion mark. Much of the industry’s revenue now comes from streaming services instead of movie theaters. 

Before his inauguration, Mr. Trump appointed actors Jon Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone to serve as “special ambassadors” to Hollywood, which Mr. Trump described as a “great, but troubled place.”

“They will serve as special envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to foreign countries, back — bigger, better and stronger than ever before,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media.

Mr. Trump threatened to tax foreign movies as part of a recent blitz of sector-specific tariffs. He recently announced levies on pharmaceuticals, heavy trucks, and kitchen and bathroom cabinets made outside the U.S.

Also Monday, he said hefty tariffs on foreign furniture are coming.

“In order to make North Carolina, which has completely lost its furniture business to China, and other Countries, GREAT again, I will be imposing substantial Tariffs on any Country that does not make its furniture in the United States,” the president wrote on his social media platform.

Mr. Trump is leaning into Section 232 and other authorities that allow him to impose tariffs on national security grounds. He has used the mechanism to impose tariffs on vehicles, auto parts, steel, aluminum and copper.

The sector-based tariffs are shielded from a pending court case that could upend a separate swath of his trade agenda.

Democratic-led states and small, import-reliant businesses say Mr. Trump overstepped by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to slap reciprocal tariffs on dozens of trading partners.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case in November.

The administration says it would have to refund $750 billion to $1 trillion in customs revenue if the justices strike down its use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and if the opinion does not arrive until June.