US moves to issue 100% tariff on foreign-made films

FOREIGN-PRODUCED FILMS shown in the US will soon be slapped with a 100% tariff, US president Donald Trump has said.

In an effort to revitalise the American moviemaking industry and crackdown on the showing of films shown abroad, which he called “messaging and propaganda”, Trump said arrangements are being made to introduce the tariffs.

The move could prove costly to the €692m Irish movie production industry which has found success in the recent past in the US and abroad. The sector has grown here due to access to funding and competitive tax incentives.

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Similar trends have been seen elsewhere, in Canada most-notably, as small filmmaking firms found it harder to break into the industry in Hollywood. Latest data from Statcan said the country’s video-production industry generated €1.8b in 2023.

“The movie industry in America is dying a very fast death,” Trump said in an online post last night. “Other countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States.”

He added: “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!”

The US president said he has instructed this Department of Commerce to begin to implement a 100% tariff on foreign-imported films. This will effectively double the cost of distribution and raise box-office prices for movie-goers.

No details were provided on how the tariff would be implemented. There was also no mention in Trump’s post of whether television series would be affected.

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