Donald Trump has renewed his threat to impose heavy tariffs on foreign films, accusing overseas industries of “stealing” America’s movie market.
Trump made these comments just after threatening to slap a number of new tariffs this week on large trucks, furniture, and branded pharmaceutical products.
Trump shifted his attention back to the movie business on Monday, accusing foreign nations of taking American companies "like stealing candy from a baby" in a Truth Social tweet.
He said that California has been severely affected and blasted Governor Gavin Newsom as "weak and incompetent."
“In order to solve this long time, never ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States,”
Trump wrote.
He gave no timeframe for when these tariffs might be implemented, nor did he elaborate on his ideas.
Trump's May statement that the US film industry was "dying a very fast death" is echoed in his most recent post.
He said at the time that he was giving the US trade representative and the Department of Commerce permission to begin the process of enacting a 100% tariff.
As of right now, it's unclear what that means for the film industry.
According to figures from the Motion Picture Association, Hollywood is a significant industry in the US economy, creating about 2.3 million employment and $279 billion in revenues in 2022.
Trump's posts made no mention of whether television shows, a growingly lucrative and well-liked production industry, would be affected.
Trump declared last Thursday that he would impose separate duties on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, heavy trucks, and branded pharmaceutical imports that ranged from 25% to 100%.
He stated that unless companies were constructing production facilities in the US, patented pharmaceutical products would be subject to 100% taxes starting on Wednesday.
Trump stated that North Carolina "has completely lost its furniture business to China, and other Countries," reinforcing his warning against imported furniture.
What legal authority allows the president to impose such tariffs?
The United States Constitution provides Congress with the exclusive abilitty to establish tariffs; however, Congress has delegated to the president the power to impose tariffs under specified conditions through legislation.
Specifically, Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 authorizes the president to impose tariffs when the Secretary of Commerce determines that imported goods could pose a threat to national security.
Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the president to impose tariffs if the U.S. International Trade Commission has found that an influx of imports threatens domestic industry.
Lastly, the president has invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 and the National Emergencies Act (NEA) to impose tariffs, especially in times of a declared national emergency that may include actual trade deficits or threats to national security.