Netflix, Disney, and other entertainment companies saw their stock prices tumble Monday morning, following President Donald Trump’s latest tariff pronouncement. Trump has floated a 100 percent tariff on foreign-produced movies, which could mean a major shift in how studios do business.
As of around 10 a.m. ET, Netflix was down about 2 percent. Disney had actually rebounded to near-even after taking a sharp fall when markets opened. Other entertainment companies saw shares fall, too. Shares in Lionsgate had dropped more than 6 percent, Paramount was down 1.5 percent, and Warner Bros. Discovery had fallen about 1 percent. Of course, share prices are liable to change throughout the day, as Monday morning had already shown.
All the tariff price increases in the tech world so far (updated)
No matter how share prices move throughout the day or week, a 100 percent tariff on foreign-produced movies would represent a major hurdle for entertainment companies. Trump posted about the change on his right-wing platform, Truth Social. He wrote:
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“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death. Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda! Therefore, I am 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. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”
It’s not clear how Trump’s tariffs on foreign-produced films would work or which films would even be affected. Entertainment trade publication Variety reported, for instance, that it was unclear if Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning — due out later this month — would be subject to tariffs because it was primarily filmed in the United Kingdom.
It’s unclear what will happen with Trump’s proposed movie tariffs, but entertainment companies will certainly be watching closely.