President Donald Trump has announced that he will impose “100% tariffs” on foreign films in an effort to help the Hollywood film industry.
Trump took to social media to label foreign film production as a “national security threat.”
Trump wrote on his own website, Truth Social, that the movie industry in America is dying quickly. Other countries are offering a variety of incentives to attract our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, as well as many other areas in the United States, are devastated.
“This is a coordinated effort by other nations, and thus a national security threat. It includes, among other things, messaging and propaganda!
“As a result, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to immediately begin the process of imposing a 100% tariff on all foreign-produced movies entering our country.
China reportedly began considering a ban on all US films last month in response to Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries, including a massive 104% duty on Chinese goods.
Bloomberg News reported that in China, two widely followed bloggers with ties to local authorities shared identical lists of measures that Chinese authorities could implement in response. These included “reducing or banning the import of US films.”
The bloggers, Liu Hong, a senior editor at the Xinhua News Agency, and Ren Yi, grandson of former Guangdong Province Communist Party chief Ren Zhongyi, attributed the plans to sources familiar with Chinese government planning.
In 2024, US films earned approximately $585 million in China. This accounts for approximately 3.5 percent of China’s total $17.71 billion box office. A significant portion of that total was due to the success of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which grossed $132 million in China.
The total domestic box office in the United States and Canada for the same time period was approximately $8.56 billion.
The film industry accounts for a sizable US trade surplus with China, as Chinese films are not as popular abroad. However, in March, some Chinese Americans campaigned for the animated hit Ne Zha 2 to be released in IMAX in the United States.
The animated blockbuster has already been scheduled for release in 37 European territories, including the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Ne Zha 2, which cost $80 million, has already become the highest-grossing animated film in history, grossing $2.06 billion in China and surpassing last year’s Inside Out 2, which grossed $1.7 billion worldwide.