Trump announces plans for 100% tariffs on foreign-made films

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday evening that he has ordered administration officials to implement a 100 percent tariff on foreign-made films imported to the US. 

"The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death," Trump wrote.  "Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the USA, are being devastated."

Trump called it a "concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!"

"Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!"

Trump told reporters at the White House the same day that "other nations have been stealing the movies, the moviemaking capabilities from the United States." He placed blame on California Governor Gavin Newsom for the decline in film production out of Hollywood over the past few years, NBC News reported.

"If they're not willing to make a movie inside the United States, we should have a tariff when movies come in. I can tell you one thing, moviemakers love it," he added.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded to Trump’s post, "We’re on it."

Per CNN, the box office has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, coming as consumer viewing habits have changed with the rise in streaming platforms. In 2018, the US box office saw $12 billion in ticket sales, but plummeted to just over $2 billion in 2020 when many theaters were shut down. The number of releases is still around half of that seen in 2019, and the total domestic box office has yet to surpass $9 billion since then.

In January, Trump announced that Mel Gibson, Jon Voight, and Sylvester Stallone would serve as special ambassadors to Hollywood under his administration to bring Hollywood "back—bigger, better, and stronger than ever before."