Donald Trump imposes 100 % tariffs on foreign films: 'Threat to national security'
PTC News Desk: In a significant move, Donald Trump has slapped 100 tarrifs on on all movies produced outside the US, a move aimed at reviving American film industry.
Trump took to his social media and criticised other nations for offering lucrative incentives to lure American studios and filmmakers abroad and described the situation as both an economic and national security threat.
"The American movie industry is dying a very fast death," Trump stated. "This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!"
Trump also emphasised on the return of domestic film production and said, "We want movies made in America again!"
Trump's decision comes amid the ongoing tariff war between the US and China. On April 10, China announced that it has decided to "moderately reduce" the release of Hollywood films in the Chinese market. China's National Film Administration directly connected its decision to tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese products.
In a statement, China's National Film Administration said, "The wrong move by the US government to abuse tariffs on China will inevitably further reduce the domestic audience's favourability towards American films," Al Jazeera reported.
It stated, "We will follow market rules, respect the audience's choice, and moderately reduce the number of American films imported."
Notably, China accepts 10 films a year from Hollywood, and the Chinese market was once considered a key source of revenue for the American film industry.
Reacting to China's decision, Trump had said that he was untroubled by China's National Film Administration's decision to target the film industry, Al Jazeera reported. In response to a question, Trump had said, "I think I've heard of worse things."
- With inputs from agencies
