A Truth Social post from Donald Trump published on Sunday, May 4, was enough to set both Hollywood and studio executives worldwide abuzz. The US president announced his intention to impose a 100% tariff on films screened in the US but produced abroad. "The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death. Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States," said the post. He added, "This is a concerted effort by other Nations," representing "a National Security threat."

This desire to extend the trade war, already underway in the automobile and semiconductor sectors, to cinema was clear in Trump's post, where he wrote in capital letters: "WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!" Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded on social media, stating he was handling it.

However, the intention to tax films produced abroad would ultimately affect very few other film industries worldwide, which accounted for only 4% of box office revenue in the US in 2024, according to the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image). This indicates that Americans have pursued a highly aggressive policy for decades to protect their stronghold in cinema.

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