President Donald Trump has once again threatened to impose a 100% tariff on all films not made in the United States, claiming that foreign industries have "stolen" the American film market. On Monday, he pointed to California's significant impact, suggesting the levy would address this "never-ending problem".

 

The proposal dates back to May when Trump announced plans to consult with Hollywood executives to combat what he termed the "fast death" of America's film industry. Recently, he has also announced tariffs on other imports, including a 100% levy on branded drugs and 50% tariffs on kitchen and bathroom cabinets.

 

Trump used his Truth Social platform to express his concerns, stating, "Our movie-making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other countries, just like stealing 'candy from a baby.'" Although the details of the tariff's implementation remain unclear, Trump has not specified a start date or how the tariffs would apply to streaming services like Netflix.

 

Dan Coatsworth, an analyst at AJ Bell, questions the practical enforcement of such a tariff. He noted, "The threat of 100% tariffs on movies made outside of the US raises more questions than it does answers," highlighting that many filmmakers relocate for tax incentives in other countries.

 

The complexity of defining an "American-made" movie, especially with foreign collaborations, poses further challenges. Coatsworth suggests that mandatory US production could lead to increased costs, affecting both consumers and streaming platforms. Despite these threats, investors seem unconcerned, with stocks like Netflix and Disney recovering quickly after a slight dip.

 

The US film industry remains influential, generating $14.54 billion (approximately ฿528.87 billion) in production spending last year, though this marks a 26% decline since 2022. Meanwhile, countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK have seen an increase in production spending, diversifying the global film landscape.

 

 

 

Key Takeaways:

 

• Trump proposes a 100% tariff on non-US films, citing theft of the industry.
• Implementation details and its impact on streaming remain unclear.
• US film production spending has declined, with a rise in other countries.
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  Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2025-09-30

 

 

Doubt anyone cares. Production companies will simply move their companies abroad then where there would be no tarrifs and stop shooting in America. 

 

Most of the big major movies have production houses in the UK nowadays anyways. More tv companies are moving to Canada. 

What this very simple-minded man doesn't get is that movies are being made overseas because the US has become ridiculously expensive, and locations like Bulgaria are becoming increasingly more popular because they offer reasonable costs of production.

 

It's not about stealing away production, it's about offering a more attractive location and a more affordable place to make a film. For Trump everything is personal, everything is an offense, the man is the ultimate victim and the ultimate snowflake, he's an incredibly weak-minded man, a daily embarrassment, and the laughing stock of planet earth. 

There is reason to believe that this is one Trump tariff that will never be enacted. There is a process in place for US Customs to collect duty on physical products entering the country, but how does Trump plan to tax digital content produced abroad? Is he going to tax movie tickets for foreign productions? Add a surcharge for Netflix and Disney streaming subscribers?  

 

Paul Laew

7 minutes ago, Paulaew said:

There is reason to believe that this is one Trump tariff that will never be enacted. There is a process in place for US Customs to collect duty on physical products entering the country, but how does Trump plan to tax digital content produced abroad? Is he going to tax movie tickets for foreign productions? Add a surcharge for Netflix and Disney streaming subscribers?  

 

Paul Laew

The problem is trump has no (process) he just flaps his yap and leaves his minions to clean up the mess!some president ehh?

Trump, once more, has not the slightest idea what he is talking about.

I like to look at credits at the end of films... not unusual to have firms in 4 or 5 different countries involved in producing the film... not limited to film sites, but may have Warsaw Philharmonic doing music, sound design in Australia, etc. Latest Mission Impossible (just) filming sites: Norway, South Africa, Malta, England, USA. Then there is all the pre and post production....

There's a major cartel between unions and few companies that controls movie production in the US. I wish Trump would instead just break those up, and address some of the fraud taking place in California.

 

I would say he's lost the plot, but he never had a plot to begin with.

The Trumpist incompetence and insanity marches on. 

2 minutes ago, davb said:

There's a major cartel between unions and few companies that controls movie production in the US. I wish Trump would instead just break those up, and address some of the fraud taking place in California.

 

That will ential deep understanding of the problem. Nah, for low IQ Trump imposing tariff on movies is much more simpler. 

Again, Trump is lost in the land of severe delusion. I think most of the time he just blurts out this nonsense, without giving a moments thought to what it means, nor how it might affect American workers and companies. That is how people without depth, intelligence, vision, or leadership function. He possesses a very small and narrow mind. His lack of vision is frightening. 

 

Studio executives told Reuters earlier this year that they were "flummoxed" by how a movie tariff might be enforced, given that modern films often use production, financing, post-production and visual effects spread across multiple countries. Hollywood has increasingly relied on overseas production hubs such as Canada, the UK and Australia, where tax incentives have attracted big-budget shoots for films ranging from superhero blockbusters to streaming dramas.

 

At the same time, co-productions with foreign studios have become more common, particularly in Asia and Europe, where local partners provide financing, access to markets, and distribution networks. Industry executives also warn that a broad tariff could affect the thousands of U.S. workers employed on overseas shoots, from visual effects artists to production crews, whose work is often coordinated across multiple countries.

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-impose-100-tariff-movies-130844496.html

Is he anticipating Epstein Files movie? 100% tariffs won't deter anyone.

I remember when i lived in Fort Macleod in Alberta many moons ago,the area over there was used a

lot in Western movies.

Pretty soon any life location will be obsolete anyway,AI will take that over also.

Pathetic and extremely childish.

3 hours ago, Paulaew said:

There is reason to believe that this is one Trump tariff that will never be enacted. There is a process in place for US Customs to collect duty on physical products entering the country, but how does Trump plan to tax digital content produced abroad? Is he going to tax movie tickets for foreign productions? Add a surcharge for Netflix and Disney streaming subscribers?  

 

Tariffs hit crates, not clicks — I agree.
 

In Feb 2025 Trump ordered probes into foreign digital-service taxes from France, the UK, Italy, and Australia on U.S. tech giants like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple.
 

Since you can’t tariff digital services, his move was to threaten tariffs on those countries’ physical exports — wine, cars, luxury goods, etc. The amount was calculated by matching the advertising and digital revenue those countries taxed from U.S. tech.
 

Try that with foreign films? There’s no way to measure or collect it — which is why the idea falls apart.

Maybe Trump will make something up — as he usually does — or use his patented formula:

Δτi = (xi − mi) / (ε * φ * mi)