In May, Donald Trump announced that he was “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.” This was about a month after the Chinese Communist Party was considering severely limiting the number of American films it lets into China — or banning such films outright.

The logistics of Trump’s proposal were daunting. Hollywood movies are often produced in multiple countries and involve international crews. It was unclear how the tariffs he proposed would actually work. Perhaps this is why we haven’t heard much about this effort in the months since Trump announced it. You may be forgiven for forgetting that it had even happened. Much has occurred in the intervening period.

But we’re getting a decidedly positive outcome even without further action on Trump’s part. Hollywood’s reliance on the Chinese film market, which has politically corrupted and aesthetically warped American films, may be effectively over. So far this year, only three American movies have made over $50 million in China: Jurassic World: Rebirth, Mission: Impossible — Final Reckoning, and F1: The Movie. This is an acceleration of an ongoing trend. In 2024, no American film made the top 10 in China’s box office.

If you don’t like Hollywood’s letting the Chinese government determine the political content of its movies, and you don’t like Hollywood’s resorting to the kind of easily translatable CGI spectacle that can sell in China (and elsewhere), then this is good news. And it didn’t require tariffs. Everybody loves a happy ending.