President Donald Trump announced on the 29th that he would impose a 100% tariff on films produced outside the United States.
On the same day, Trump claimed on the social media platform TruthSocial that “our film production business has been stolen from America by other countries, like stealing candy from a baby.” He added, “California, with its weak and incompetent governor, has been hit particularly hard. Therefore, to solve this long-standing and unending problem, I will impose a 100% tariff on all films produced outside the United States.”
However, President Trump did not mention the criteria for “films made outside the United States” or the schedule for imposing tariffs.
President Trump has previously stated his intention to impose tariffs to protect the American film industry. In May, he told TruthSocial that “the American film industry is dying very quickly,” and that he had instructed the Department of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to impose a 100% tariff on all foreign-produced films.
Meanwhile, his mention of the California governor is interpreted as an attempt to shift some of the blame for the film industry’s difficulties onto Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
He has consistently attacked Newsom, a leading Democratic presidential candidate, even blaming him for the massive wildfires in California.