Nobody Seems To Understand Trump’s Movie Tariffs

Over the past months, Americans have become very familiar with the concept of tariffs: fees paid upon import of goods, levied by a country to encourage keeping production within its borders. Tariffs are nothing new, but President Trump has doubled down on them, with a special focus on China. It’s definitely frustrating for supply chains, and their effectiveness remains to be seen, but the tariffs were applied to the standard industries of manufacturing and import/export, like the price of video game consoles.

But in a sweeping declaration, Trump has upended the very concept of tariffs by applying them to one of America’s most complicated industries: Hollywood.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday — Star Wars day, of all days — President Trump claimed that “the Movie Industry in America is DYING” and announced a “100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” It’s an easy thing to type out, but enforcing it is near impossible. Let’s break down exactly what he means here.

First, we need to identify the targets. What does a movie “produced in foreign lands” mean? Would Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, a movie produced by U.S.-based production companies that filmed all over the world, including the United Kingdom, Norway, and South Africa, be affected by a tariff? How about foreign-produced movies that are distributed in the United States through streaming, like Emilia Perez?

Then, there’s the conundrum of enforceability. When goods are brought into the U.S., they are processed so that fees can be paid. But movies are no longer physical products — reels of film aren’t being shipped out to every theater. Instead, they are digital goods, which makes the process a lot more complicated. The World Trade Organization has placed a moratorium on tariffs for digital goods until 2026, so a tariff on movies may have to be delayed.

It appears that Trump is targeting movies that are shot outside the U.S., and it’s true that many blockbusters are taking production elsewhere. Marvel recently moved its center of production from Atlanta, Georgia, to the United Kingdom, and the U.K. is also where the Star Wars sequel trilogy was mainly filmed, as well as the currently airing Andor.

But there are already economic measures in place to keep productions in the States: The entire reason Marvel Studios based its production hub in Georgia in the first place was because of an enticing tax incentive that made filming there more affordable than elsewhere. Even in recent years, there’s evidence that tax incentives can still work: Season 1 of Prime Video’s Fallout is set in California, but filmed everywhere from Utah to Namibia to depict its post-apocalyptic wasteland. But after California announced new tax incentives, Season 2’s production moved to Los Angeles.

Now, the day after the announcement, details are still as murky as before. “Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Hollywood Reporter.

At the very least, the description of these tariffs as “foreign film tariffs” seems to suggest that movies produced by American companies are safe regardless of where they are filmed, but it seems like nobody knows what exactly these tariffs will look like, not even the people in power.