President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States is moving to impose a hefty tariff on foreign flicks to save the nation’s struggling film industry.
Trump stated in a post on Truth Social that he had authorized the Department of Commerce and the U.S. 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.”
‘The key concern, of course, will be how this might affect U.S. movie sales around the world.’
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death. 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 U.S.A., are being devastated,” Trump wrote. “This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat.”
He argued that the foreign films pushed “propaganda.”
“WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” Trump declared.
The president told reporters that “Hollywood is being destroyed.” He, in part, blamed “grossly incompetent” California Governor Gavin Newsom (D).
“Other nations have been stealing the moviemaking capabilities from the United States,” he stated. “If they’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States, then we should have a tariff on movies that come in.”
In response to Trump’s tariff announcement, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick confirmed that the administration is “on it.”
In January, Trump named actors Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, and Jon Voight Hollywood’s “special ambassadors,” tasked with bringing filmmaking back to the U.S.
“They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK — BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE! These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!” Trump stated.
At the time of Trump’s announcement, Gibson told Variety, “I got the tweet at the same time as all of you and was just as surprised. Nevertheless, I heed the call. My duty as a citizen is to give any help and insight I can.”
A Friday report from Deadline stated that Voight has been meeting with union representatives and studio executives to better understand Hollywood’s challenges.
In April, Voight’s manager, Steven Paul, told NBC News that Voight planned to soon present Trump with a list of ideas to revive the nation’s movie industry. Those proposals reportedly include incentives for infrastructure investments, job training, and tax code alterations.
According to Politico, state Sen. Ben Allen (D) and “a person close to the White House” have attributed the foreign film tariffs to Voight.
Allen told the news outlet, “To be honest, at first blush I generally see this as a positive development. Unlike a lot of the other items on Trump’s tariffs list, we know that TV and movies can be made 100% in the USA right now and at a very high caliber.”
“The key concern, of course, will be how this might affect U.S. movie sales around the world,” he added.
A rep for Voight did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Rolling Stone.
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News, Tariffs, Trump administration, Trump admin, Trump, Donald trump, Hollywood, California, Film, Film industry, Jon voight, Sylvester stallone, Mel gibson, Politics