According to Trump, the film industry in the US is ‘dying’ and something has to be done about it. In addition to naming three well -known actors as symbolic ambassadors, the US president is now threatening to introduce import rates of 100% on all films that are produced outside the US.
Guilt lies with foreign governments
Yesterday we already reported that Jon Voight, one of the appointed ambassadors, makes plans to breathe new life into Hollywood. What exactly that plan entails is not yet clear, but there were already expectations that it would have something to do with a federal tax stimulus. On Truth Social, the president now indicates that he is indeed planning to use import duties on foreign films to save Hollywood from “a quick death”.
The film industry in America dies a very fast death. Other countries offer all kinds of incentives to lure our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood and many other areas in the US are destroyed. This is a joint effort from other nations and therefore a threat to national security. In addition to everything else, it is reporting and propaganda! That is why I give the Ministry of Commerce and the trade representative of the United States permission to immediately start setting a 100% rate on all films that come in our country and that are produced abroad. We want films that are made in America again!
Much unclear
Studio bosses and people from the industry scare massively from the call, although there is still enormous uncertainty about whether Trump has the authority to set these rates. It is also not yet clear how import duties would be implemented and checked.
In addition, the question is what rules would apply to productions that are partly included abroad, such as Christopher Nolans The Odyssey (2026) of which the recordings will take place in Morocco and Sicily. There is also some confusion about why the president only mentioned films and no series or television productions. Whether and how the import duties will take shape is therefore the question.
