Trump’s Latest Tariff Tantrum Targets Non-US Films

A potential disaster for the film industry and American audiences missing out on international cinema

Photo by Dave Lowe on Unsplash

I’m extremely reluctant to add to the storm of outrage over the current US president, given that he thrives on the oxygen of publicity. I think at least half the reason he is currently in power is because the media didn’t make a collective effort to ignore him after his defeat at the ballot box in 2020. Since I don’t really write about politics online, I won’t comment on the many other things for which he is responsible with which I profoundly disagree. Also, as a Brit, I feel this is very much America’s mess to clear up. There’s not much good I can do from this side of the pond.

However, when news of his idiotic idea to place 100 per cent tariffs on non-US films hit the headlines, because I do write about cinema online I felt obliged to say a few words. Mostly a scoff of derision at the sheer nitwittery inherent in this idea, with a side order of sympathy for anyone in the industry whose job could be under threat, and a lament for American viewers who love world cinema.