Trump previously proposed to impose tariffs on films made overseas in May, but industry experts questioned how fees would be collected.
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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has repeatedly poses his threat to impose 100% tariffs on films made outside the United States.
“Our filmmaking business has been stolen by other countries from the United States, as if they steal candies from babies,” Trump said in a September 29 social media post.
Trump imposed global tariffs in August, raising funds for imports from other countries, and forced foreign governments to the negotiation table to improve trade transactions. However, Trump’s power to impose tariffs has been challenged in court, and the Supreme Court will hear debate on November 5th whether they have been approved.
Film industry experts asked after Trump first threatened tariffs on films made overseas, and then initially threatened how fees such as production costs and ticket sales would be collected.
“If there’s too much uncertainty, this latest move raises more questions than answers,” PP’s visionary analyst Paolo Pescatore told Reuters. “For now, as things stand, costs are likely to increase, and this will inevitably be passed on to consumers.”
Paramount Skydance shares fell 2.1%, while Warner Bros Discovery fell 1.3% since its announcement.
Rep. Laura Friedman, D-Calif., a former film producer representing the Glendale area’s leading Hollywood studios, said the film tax credits will work better to keep the industry’s job more than tariffs that could raise costs.
“President Trump has reassured us that we are aware that we are losing our American products: the domestic film and television industry,” Friedman said in a statement. “However, his 100% tariff on foreign films will raise consumer costs. As representative of almost every major producer and former film producer in Hollywood, he knows what works without hurting consumers: national film tax credits.”
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-California, co-authored the film’s state tax credits when he was in the state legislature, but told reporters that tariffs would boost costs for buyers.
“It seems like another random idea he put out there without thinking about how it would actually be implemented,” Lieu said. “If implemented, the consumer costs of the film will increase.”
This story has been updated to add new information.
Contribution: Reuters
