WEALTH September 29, 2025 0 Comments

Trump’s Shocking 100% Tariff Threat on Foreign Films: What It Means for Hollywood’s Future and Your Investments

So, here we go again—Donald Trump is shaking things up with a bold promise to slap a 100% tariff on every movie made outside the United States. Yep, you read that right. It’s like he’s ready to hunker down and put a giant “Made in America” stamp on Hollywood’s blockbuster dreams. But seriously, how exactly do you tax a movie? When films today are stitched together with talent, financing, and special effects from all corners of the globe, this feels less like a straightforward business move and more like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall. Trump’s claim that the movie biz has been “stolen” from the US—especially calling out California and Governor Gavin Newsom—throws gasoline on the fire of an already complicated, highly global industry that generated billions and millions of jobs just a couple of years ago. The question is: can this tariff idea hold any water without derailing the very ecosystem that makes Hollywood hum? Let’s dive into the chaos and see what’s really going on behind this high-stakes saga. LEARN MORE

US President Donald Trump has claimed he will impose a 100% tariff on all foreign-made movies, renewing the threat he made to Hollywood’s globalised business model earlier in the year.

Posting on his TruthSocial platform, Trump said the film business had been “stolen” from the US and that he would impose tariffs on “any and all movies” that are made outside America.

He did not provide any details regarding the legal authority he would use to enact the tariff or how such a tax would work in practice.

“Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby'” Trump wrote

“California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit!” he added in reference to Gavin Newsom.

“Therefore, in order to solve this long-time, never-ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States.”

Trump floated the idea of a tariff on foreign films in May, saying at the time that the US movie industry was “dying a very fast death”. However, he offered few details before seemingly leaving the idea to fizzle out.

The proposal caused confusion in Hollywood due to the increasingly international nature of film production and the fact that films are not a product that can be taxed at ports.

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.

Some legal and trade analysts argue that films are a form of intellectual property and part of the global trade in services, an area where the US runs a surplus.

Co-productions with foreign studios have also become more common, adding to doubts about how such films would be classified.

Figures from the Motion Picture Association show Hollywood generated 2.3m jobs and $278bn in sales in 2022.

Trump Film — Trump has again threatened to put a 100% tariff on foreign films. (Pic: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

However, the North American box office was worth $8.6bn in 2024, or just 75% of 2019 levels ($11.4bn), as viewers continue to opt to watch at home instead of in cinemas.

Trump did not mention in his post whether television series, which account for a growing share of Hollywood production, would be subject to any tariff.

Photo: US President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Pic: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)