Another day, another random Trump tariff. This time, he has said he is imposing a 100 percent tariff on films produced outside of the US, claiming other countries were spreading "messaging and propaganda" that constituted a "national security threat."
In a post yesterday evening (May 4) on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "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."
He authorized the US Department of Commerce and Trade Representative to begin the process, and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded, "We're on it."
What such a tariff could look like is unclear. Deadline speculates that one theory is that tariffs will be applied to the financial incentives productions receive to film outside of the US — including ones offered by Canadian provinces. There are many US productions that film overseas for the exotic locations that aren't available within the country.
California Governor Gavin Newsom's office says that Trump has "no authority" to impose such a tariff. Bob Salladay, the governor's senior advisor for communications, told Deadline, "We believe he has no authority to impose tariffs under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, since tariffs are not listed as a remedy under that law."