Trump Announces 100% Tariff on Foreign-Made Movies

President Donald Trump on Monday said he will implement a 100% tariff on movies made outside the US, renewing an idea first mentioned in May.

The Details: On Truth Social, Trump said, “Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby.’” Trump also claimed that California has been “hard hit” by overseas production. Details on how the tariffs would be implemented have not been officially released. Following the announcement, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery stocks declined  2.1% and 1.3%.

For Context: According to The Numbers (Not Rated), the share of US-made movies in the global market fell from 85.58% in 2014 to 64.67% in 2025. According to the Associated Press (Left bias), data from the Motion Picture Association shows that American films made $22.6 billion in exports and $15.3 billion in trade surplus in 2023. According to the New York Post (Lean Right), Hollywood has increasingly relied on production hubs in Canada, the UK, Australia, and others where tax incentives and subsidies reduce costs; for example nearly 24% of Hollywood films had at least one day of filming in the UK, and 19% in Canada.

How the Media Covered It: Associated Press framed the tariffs as unnecessary, and raised doubts about the rationale. It called the tariffs, “a vague directive aimed at protecting a business that America already dominates,” and included quotes about the tariffs being problematic and potentially counterproductive. The New York Post highlighted the outsourcing of some movie production to other countries, and mentioned praise from Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien and Teamsters Motion Picture Division Director Lindsay Dougherty from May. BBC (Center) included quotes that expressed uncertainty about the tariffs’ effectiveness, including Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell who said it would be difficult to define an American-made movie if a film were to be shot in the US but have foreign actors, directors, or funding.

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