With the tariff war between the US and China unresolved, President Donald Trump is imposing yet ANOTHER tariff on all countries.
All movies that are produced outside the United States of America will be hit with a 100% tariff.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the move was made because the Hollywood industry is “dying a very fast death,” and claimed that other countries are coming with all sorts of incentives to draw Hollywood studios and filmmakers away from the country. The President dubbed this “a security threat and a propaganda”.
“Therefore, I am authorising 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!”
For illustration purposes only
The recent major Hollywood action flick that was released worldwide is Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*, which, at the time of writing (May 5), has brought in over USD162 million at the box office in the opening week.
The Writers Guild of America Strike
In case you missed it, many Hollywood productions were impacted by the Writers Guild of America Strike (WGA), where over 11,000 screenwriters went on strike in 2023 over a labour dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
The strike was mostly triggered by poor compensation for the writers, with the goals of achieving increased funding and job security for the writers, as well as limiting the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The strike lasted from May 2 until September 27, 2023. The strike also took place in 1988 and 1960, according to The Washington Post.
It not only caused major delays to many Hollywood productions, but some movies that were in production had to be scrapped.
For instance, Captain America: Brave New World, which was released in February 2025, had an initial release date of July 26, 2024. Thunderbolts* was supposed to be screened on December 20 last year, but was released on May 1, 2025.
The next movie in Marvel’s roster is Fantastic 4: First Steps, which currently holds a release date of July 25, 2025. It was initially scheduled to be released on February 14 this year, according to Deadline.
What do you think of President Trump’s move?
