Trump threatens 100% tariffs for foreign films

New York (AP) – President Donald Trump Opened a new Salvo in his tariff war and aims at films that were made outside of the USA

In a post Sunday evening on his Truth social platform, Trump said that he had authorized the Ministry of Commerce and the office of the US trade representative to “hit a 100% tariff on all films in our country that are produced in foreign countries”.

“The film industry in America dies very quickly,” he wrote, complaining that other countries offer “all possible incentives to draw” from filmmakers and studios from the USA.

It was not immediately clear how such a tariff for international productions could be implemented. It is common for both large and smaller films to include production in both the USA and in other countries. Big budget films such as the upcoming “Mission: Impossible-the End Reckoning” are shot around the world, for example.

For years, incentive programs have influenced where films are made, and film production from California and to other states and countries with favorable tax incentives such as Canada and Great Britain.

The tariffs are supposed to lead consumers to American products. And films produced by America dominate in film cinemas that overwhelm the domestic market.

China has increased its domestic film production and culminated this year in the animated blockbuster “Ne ZHA 2” by more than 2 billion US dollars. But even then, sales came almost exclusively from the Chinese mainland. In North America in just 20.9 million US dollars.

The film association did not react immediately to news on Sunday evening.

The MPA data shows how much Hollywood exports have dominated cinemas. According to the MPA, the American films produced 22.6 billion US dollars of exports and $ 15.3 billion in trading surplus in 2023.

Trump did well on the “tariff man” label, which he gave years ago and did new taxes on goods in countries all over the world. This includes a tariff of 145% on Chinese goods and a 10% basic tariff for goods from other countries, whereby even higher taxes are threatened.

By one -sided imposing tariffs, Trump has exerted an exceptional influence on the trading group, created political risks and drawn the market in different directions. There are tariffs for cars, steel and aluminum, with further imports, including pharmaceutical medication, will be exposed to new tariffs in the coming weeks.

Trump has long said that film production is moved overseas.

Shortly before he took up his office, he announced that he had stopped The actors Mel Gibson, Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone serve as a “special ambassador” in Hollywood to “bring it back – Zigger, better and stronger than ever!”

The US film and television production has been hindered in recent years, with setbacks of the Covid 19 pandemic, the Hollywood Guild strikes from 2023 And the youngest forest fires in the Los Angeles area. The overall production in the United States decreased last year last year compared to 2021, according to Prodpro data, which are pursuing production.

The group's annual survey among managers who asked for preferred locations did not find the top five in the USA. According to the Hollywood reporter. Toronto, Great Britain, Vancouver, Central Europe and Australia achieved first place in California, Georgia Seventh, New Jersey Eight and New York.

The problem is particularly acute in California. In the Los Angeles area, production last year was 5.6% compared to 2023 According to FilmlaSecond until 2020, during pandemic. In October, Governor Gavin Newsom proposed in October to expand the California film and television shipping tax credit to 750 million US dollars a year compared to $ 330 million.

Other US cities such as Atlanta, New York, Chicago and San Francisco have also used aggressive tax incentives to attract film and television productions. These programs can compete in the form of money grants such as in Texas or tax credits that Georgia and New Mexico offer.

“Other nations stole the functions of the film from the USA,” said Trump in the White House on Sunday evening after returning from a weekend in Florida. “If you are not ready to make a film in the USA, we should have a tariff for films that come into play.”

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Gary Field, Associated Press Writer, contributed to this report from Washington.