Can Tariffs Make Hollywood Great Again?

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Can Tariffs Make Hollywood Great Again?

President Trump announced a 100% tariff on all foreign-produced movies, saying the U.S. film industry is “DYING a very fast death.” (For the purpose of this discussion, my assumption is that “Hollywood” refers to American entertainment and not the city since many places like Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma are taking a lot of the city’s business.)

The LA Times reported:

For more than two decades, major studios have shifted movie production to cheaper countries, including Canada, U.K., Bulgaria, New Zealand, Australia and other countries that offer generous tax benefits to build their local economies, luring films away from Hollywood.

The migration of high-paying jobs has become a critical issue for Los Angeles, which has seen a dramatic loss in film production and jobs in recent years.

In a Truth Social post, President Trump said, “Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”

While some on the right say Hollywood isn’t worth saving, actor Nick Searcy said, “Trump's helping the working class of Hollywood that has seen their jobs go overseas. As usual. The producers still make money when they shoot in Thailand, but the Thai crew makes peanuts and the US crews make zero.”

Likewise, actor Robert Davi said, “This is GREAT!!! It has been happening for decades - hurting many businesses in a trickle down effect on all services surrounding.”

Actress and filmmaker Justine Bateman said, “I'm glad that President realDonaldTrump is wanting to take steps to preserve some of America's greatest cultural exports, film and series. I sincerely hope the conversation can be continued with him to discover the best ways to increase American film production.”

It’s worth noting that when it comes to content American entertainment is actually a bright spot, a point that Rush Limbaugh frequently made regarding copyrighted material. Deadline reported:

According to the Motion Picture Association, 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. Trump’s point, though, was to keep that production within the U.S.