Trump promises steep tariffs for foreign movies and imported furniture

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, claims that Hollywood and the US have been “stolen” from him and that he wants to levy a 100 percent import tax on movies made outside of the country.

The US president claimed the tariff was meant to “solve this long-awaited problem” in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday.

Our film-making industry has been taken from the United States of America, as well as from other nations, similar to stealing baby candy, he wrote.

He continued, “California has been particularly hit,” making reference to California governor Gavin Newsom, a frequent foe of Trump’s.

Since movies and TV shows can be transmitted digitally without using ports, it was unclear how these tariffs would operate.

For US movies that rely on foreign locations to tell a story, like those in the James Bond franchise, it wasn’t clear what this would mean.

Many movies are international co-productions, according to analysts. Additionally, since they are not imported in a conventional way, the government would have to decide how to value them and when they even meet the importation criteria.

Trump threatened the Department of Commerce in a similar way in May by directing it to immediately impose a 100 percent tariff on movies “produced in foreign countries.”

He argued at the time that other nations were luring filmmakers and studios away with lucrative incentives, making it known as a threat to national security that the US film industry was “DYING a very quick death.”

The Reuters news agency contacted the White House for comment on how the tariffs would be put in place, but the White House did not respond right away.

This latest action raises more questions than answers, according to PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore, who said there is too much uncertainty.

Costs are likely to rise as things stand, he said, and consumers will inevitably be affected by this.

On the same social media platform, the president also promised “substantial” tariffs on any nation that imports goods outside the US on Monday.