With industries across the United States feeling the brunt of tariffs on an individual level, it was only a matter of time before they hit the entertainment industry with full force.
Recently, the President of the United States announced that he'd be imposing a hundred percent tariff on foreign-made films. The Trump Administration hasn't specified which countries it's looking to impose said tariffs on, although only a few come to mind.
Considering that the U.S. is one of the largest producers of movies and television shows in the world, very little competition will feel anything from the suggested change. Similarly, the parameters of Trump's tariffs are labeled as "ill-defined," which in layman's terms means "things could change at any time." In all likelihood, China is the sole target as the country has been Trump's focus as of late, or perhaps the President will attempt to place tariffs on Bollywood productions; India is another large distributor of movies around the world.
In any case, the few countries that will have to deal with the entertainment-related tariffs are India, China, and Japan as they're the only other major producers of large-scale media in the world. Mind you, those countries are holding strong on various fronts, so it's unlikely another Trump-imposed tariff will put any additional pressure on them.
China, for example, hasn't backed down from the proposed 145 percent tariff on goods imported from the country. It's halted trade, and no negotiations are currently happening.
Assuming a tariff is imposed on movies and television shows from China, they would presumably stop reaching American audiences in the next year. The individual consumer may not initially understand the consequences, but it's as simple as being unable to watch the latest season of your favorite internationally produced shows. Netflix subscribers, for example, would more than likely be able to see global titles on the app, except once accessed, the page will presumably read "Oh no, this title currently isn't available to watch in your country." It rarely happens, but if you watch shows like Squid Game, you may encounter this message.
Speaking of Squid Game, South Korea—the country that produces the popular Netflix show—is another global media producer. Although not on the same level as the United States, South Korea produces enough content to see changes to accessible content if an agreement can't be reached.
Stocks are already anticipating a decline when Netflix incurs the tariffs. Netflix, for example, dropped three percent, while Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery suffered a similar dip in the stock market. These changes come just one day after President Trump claimed that the "American movie industry is dying." Bear in mind that the entertainment industry employs four million people and generates $500 billion annually.
The good news is that the "ill-defined" parameters of the entertainment tariff make them difficult to enforce. Industry professionals are already questioning how the current administration would implement tariffs on international media. Then, there are exceptions to consider.