Donald Trump still wants to impose tariffs on movies made outside the United States, while he’s talking about establishing low interest bonds for the industry.
In comments to the New York Post/California Post, Trump said, “I’m going to be putting tariffs on movies from outside of the country — if they’re made in Canada, if they’re made in all these places, because Los Angeles has lost the movie industry.”
“And so I’m going to put tariffs on and we’re going to be doing bonds, some bonds, some low-interest bonds, for the movie industry. We’ll bring it back.”
Trump did not elaborate on any details of a bond program, per the Post.
In May, the president first announced plans for 100% tariffs on movies made in other countries, but the White House later said that it was something that was still being studied. His comments, though, rattled the industry, and over the next couple of weeks, steps were taken by studio and other industry reps to steer the conversation toward an expanded set of federal incentives to boost film production. Among those urging the president to support such an incentive is WME Group Executive Chairman Ari Emanuel, who called Trump as he was being interviewed by New York magazine.
The Post interview indicates that Trump has not given up on the idea of film tariffs, while he told the Post that he wanted to bring the movie business back to Los Angeles.
Trump’s tariff authority is being challenged in court, with the Supreme Court expected to rule soon on whether he had the power to impose the duties on an array of countries. Movies actually are listed as an exception to presidential authority under the International Emergency Powers Act, which gives the president authority to address threats to national security and the economy. There also are questions of how tariffs would apply to services.
A spokesperson for the Motion Picture Association declined to comment.
Among studios, there also have been concerns that Trump would try to impose restrictions on any filming overseas, as generous incentives in the UK, Canada and Australia long have lured Hollywood studio tentpole production. Major Hollywood studios have come to depend on those overseas incentives as a way to try to reduce production costs.
According to the MPA, the industry generated a positive balance of trade in every major market in the world, with exports 3.1 times that of imports. The industry produced $22.6 billion in exports and $15.3 billion in trade surplus.
The California Post, an offshoot of the New York Post, launched on Monday.
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