Donald Trump wants to tax films produced outside the United States

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would "immediately begin the process of imposing 100% tariffs" on films released in the United States but produced abroad.

"The American film industry is dying very quickly (...) Hollywood and many other parts of the United States are devastated," Donald Trump said on his Truth Social network.

"Other countries are offering all sorts of incentives to lure our filmmakers and studios away from the United States," he said. He called it a "concerted effort by other nations" and "a threat to national security."

Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has launched several investigations into the "national security effects" of various imports ranging from semiconductors to crucial minerals.

This investigation is a necessary first step that could allow the American president to issue an executive order imposing customs duties on these products if it is demonstrated that their import volume represents a risk to national security.

No details have yet been given on the conditions for applying surcharges on films produced abroad. This represents a new escalation in the trade offensive launched by the American president against the United States' economic partners.

China, against which Donald Trump focuses a large part of his criticism, announced at the beginning of April that it would reduce, "moderately," the number of American films officially distributed on its territory, one of its responses to the prohibitive customs duties imposed by the United States on its products.

Beijing limits the number of foreign films officially shown in its theaters through a quota system. Reducing access to this market, the second largest in the world after the United States for cinema, could reduce revenue for Hollywood studios.