Letting loose with a barrage of social media postings this morning on subjects ranging from furniture production in North Carolina to the NFL and more, Donald Trump is back on attacking Gavin Newsom and promising big tariffs on overseas movies — really big tariffs.
“Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby.’ California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit,” Trump wrote Monday on his Truth Social platform. “Therefore, in order to solve this long time, never ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
If you are experiencing déjà vu reading those lines, yes that is almost exactly what the former Apprentice host said back in May.
Calling runaway production a “national security threat,” Trump’s threats of a “100% tariff” earlier this year came after reports that one of his “special ambassadors” to Hollywood, Jon Voight, was a devising a plan to save the entertainment industry. A plan that, as of today, has yet to bear fruition.
The Motion Picture Association today had no comment on Trump’s latest post.
A White House spokesman also did not immediately respond to comment for more elaboration on the president’s latest post.
After Trump posted his earlier threat in May, industry representatives grappled with how to respond. Within 24 hours, the White House cautioned that the tariffs would be under review by the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative. Trump himself said that he would host a gathering of Hollywood reps, but none has happened. “I’m not looking to hurt the industry,” Trump told reporters.
About a week later, after tariff talk died down a bit, the studios, unions, Voight and Sylvester Stallone, another of the president’s special ambassadors, penned a letter to Trump outlining proposals for expanded production incentives. The letter did not mention tariffs. There have been hopes ever since that movie tariffs would be on the back burner.
Among studios, there also have been concerns that Trump would try to impose restrictions on any filming overseas, as generous incentives in the UK, Canada and Australia long have lured Hollywood studio tentpole production. Major Hollywood studios have come to depend on those overseas incentives as a way to try to reduce production costs.
According to the MPA, the industry generated a positive balance of trade in every major market in the world, with exports 3.1 times that of imports. The industry produced $22.6 billion in exports, and $15.3 billion in trade surplus.
There also is the question of how tariffs would work on services, not actual goods. Trump’s tariff authority overall is already facing a court challenge, with the Supreme Court reviewing it and hearing oral arguments in November. Movies actually are listed as an exception to presidential authority under the International Emergency Powers Act, which gives the president authority to address threats to national security and the economy.
Trump’s post also follows his attacks on Jimmy Kimmel and other late-night hosts. ABC pulled Kimmel’s show following warnings from the president’s FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, and announcements from major station groups that they would stop airing the late-night host’s show. But Disney returned Kimmel to the air last week, with Nexstar and Sinclair following several days later. Trump blasted Kimmel’s return, and threatened the network again.
When Trump made his Hollywood tariff threat back in May, Kimmel quipped, “Next year, The White Lotus is gonna be set at a Hampton Inn.”
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