US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he plans to introduce a 100 percent tariff on all movies produced outside the United States. The decision marks an extension of his trade policy into cultural industries and could significantly impact Hollywood’s global business operations, according to a Reuters report.
Trump posted the announcement on Truth Social, stating that “the movie industry has been taken away from America.” His remarks suggest a push to reclaim domestic dominance in film production.
It is still uncertain which legal framework will be used to implement the tariffs, and the White House has not commented on the matter. Leading film companies such as Warner Bros Discovery, Comcast, Paramount Skydance and Netflix also withheld responses at the time of reporting.
Market impact
According to Reuters, Netflix shares fell by around 1.5 percent in early trading following the announcement. The proposed tariff creates uncertainty for studios that depend heavily on international audiences and collaborative ventures across borders for revenue growth.
Industry and legal concerns
Film executives have previously expressed confusion about how such tariffs could realistically be enforced, since modern productions are often developed, financed and edited across several countries. Trade and legal specialists note that films are generally categorized as intellectual property under global trade in services, a sector where the United States usually benefits. This raises questions about whether tariffs of this nature could be legally upheld. Another area of ambiguity involves how joint productions between American and international studios would be handled under the policy.