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President Donald Trump on Sunday said he has authorized a 100% tariff on movies made overseas.
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The news surprised the movie industry and media giants as Trump extended the reach of his trade policy beyond the import of physical goods. The president called tax incentives that lure production of American movies overseas a “national security threat” in a Truth Social post on Sunday.
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The announcement hit shares of media giants like Neflix, Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery in early trading.
President Donald Trump Sunday said he has authorized a 100% tariff on movies made overseas, blindsiding the movie industry and media giants as he took his tariffs war beyond levies on the import of physical goods into the country.
The announcement, made by the president on his Truth Social platform, was hitting shares of media giants like Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and Netflix (NFLX) Monday morning. Shares of Disney, which reports quarterly results Wednesday, were trading down 2%, while those of Netflix were 5% lower in early trading. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Paramount Global (PARA) shares also fell, down 3% and almost 2%, respectively.
The president called tax incentives that lure production of American movies overseas a “national security threat” in a Truth Social post on Sunday and said the tariffs on all movies produced in “foreign lands” would take effect immediately. Many American movies and TV shows are made in Canada and the U.K., both of which offer tax incentives, among other places.
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” Trump said. “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.”
“WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” he concluded in his post, which did not name specific companies.
Netflix and Disney didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Industry executives were reportedly surprised by the announcement, not least because it was unclear what exactly the tariffs would entail.
The movie industry "generated a positive balance of trade in every major market in the world," according to the Motion Picture Association latest economic impact report.
UPDATE—May 5, 2025: This article has been updated to include refreshed share prices.
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