The White House said âall optionsâ are being explored after Trump authorized a 100 percent tariff on movies made outside the United States.
The White House clarified on May 5 that no final decisions have been made on imposing tariffs on foreign-made films, while âall optionsâ remain under consideration following President Donald Trumpâs directive to explore trade measures aimed at revitalizing the U.S. movie industry.
âAlthough no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trumpâs directive to safeguard our countryâs national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again,â White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
Desaiâs comment followed Trumpâs May 4 Truth Social post in which he accused foreign governments of luring U.S. film production overseas through generous incentives and described the trend as a coordinated threat to U.S. culture and national security.
âThe Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,â Trump
wrote in the post. âOther 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. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda.â
Trump said he authorized the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative âto immediately begin the process of instituting a 100 percent Tariff on any and all Movies coming into [the United States] that are produced in Foreign Lands.â
âWe want movies made in America, again!â he wrote in all capital letters.
The presidentâs comments on using tariffs to protect the U.S. film industryâand subsequent White House clarification that all options are being exploredâcome amid a sharp decline in U.S.-based film production. Hollywood recorded just 451 shoot days for feature films in the first quarter of 2025âa nearly 29 percent drop from the same period last year, according to recent
data from FilmLA. Industry observers and recent reports point to the growing appeal of foreign locations, where looser tax rules, cheaper labor, and generous subsidies have lured productions overseas.
Hollywoodâs wane has drawn increasing concern from the Trump administration, which has cast the issue as not just an economic risk but also a cultural risk. Earlier this year, Trump
appointed actors Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone as special envoys to Hollywood, tasked with advising him on ways to revitalize the U.S. entertainment industry and restore its former glory.
Trumpâs efforts to counteract Hollywoodâs decline come amid escalating trade tensions with China, which
retaliated against the presidentâs sweeping import tariffs by further restricting U.S. access to its lucrative entertainment market. On April 10, Beijingâs National Film Administration announced that it would âmoderately reduceâ the number of U.S. films allowed into Chinese cinemas, citing a decline in local audience interest following the U.S. tariff hikes.
When asked about the Chinese regimeâs move, Trump
said, âI think Iâve heard of worse things.â
U.S. officials have accused China of using film import quotas and restrictive revenue-sharing models to control cultural influence. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) currently caps foreign film imports at 34 per year, and U.S. studios typically receive only 25 percent of Chinese box office receipts, roughly half of what they earn in most other international markets.
As of mid-April, the Trump administration had
imposed 145 percent tariffs on all goods originating from China. In response, Beijing
levied 125 percent tariffs on U.S. imports. The White House later warned that further escalation could trigger reciprocal duties of up to 245 percent.
Trump, speaking in a May 4 NBC
interview, said he had âno intentionâ of rolling back tariffs just to get Chinese officials to the negotiating table.
âAt some point, Iâm going to lower them because otherwise, you could never do business with them, and they want to do business very much,â he said. âLook, their economy is really doing badly. Their economy is collapsing.â
A number of experts have
told The Epoch Times that U.S. tariffs are hurting Chinaâs highly export-dependent economy. Some have predicted that unless Chinese officials make a deal with Trump, China could experience an economic depression.
