Let’s talk tariffs. Usually, tariffs are straightforward—steel, cars, electronics—physical stuff you ship in crates. Pretty easy, right? But what happens when someone suggests tariffs on digital content and creative services, like movies, animation, and streaming rights?
Enter Donald Trump and his latest bright idea: slapping tariffs on “Hollywood imports.” Yeah, you read that right. Trump wants to tariff something that isn’t even physically shipped. You know, because Hollywood and digital animation totally get delivered in big crates labeled “Anime” at the port.
How exactly does that work?
It doesn’t. It’s literally nonsense. Traditional tariffs apply to physical goods crossing borders. A car from Germany, steel from China—that makes sense. You can track it, weigh it, tax it. But anime from Japan or licensing rights for a French film? Good luck tracking that on a cargo manifest.
Trump’s proposal targets digital transfers and intellectual property. You can’t just slap a tariff on licensing deals, streaming content, or animation files zipping across the internet. It’s like trying to put a toll booth on your Wi-Fi—pointless, impossible, and incredibly disruptive.
Real-world consequences? They’re already happening.
Here’s the problem: even mentioning tariffs creates uncertainty. Hollywood stakeholders are nervous. Investors and producers who planned to build new studios and launch new projects in America have now paused their plans, worried they’ll face sudden, unpredictable costs.
And let me be clear—this isn’t just impacting Hollywood elites. We’re talking about thousands of regular workers who build sets, run electrical wiring, rig cameras, craft visual effects, and depend on these projects to pay their mortgages. Local economies where studios would be built—jobs, restaurants, hotels, local businesses—all suffer because of one reckless proposal.
The Kotaku article lays it out clearly: Trump’s tariff threat is already making investors cautious, putting planned studios on hold. So, congrats Trump—you’ve managed to harm an entire industry just by floating another half-baked, economically ignorant idea.
Bottom line:
Trying to tariff creative and digital entertainment is technically absurd, economically disastrous, and politically reckless. It achieves nothing except hurting American jobs and destabilizing one of our most globally influential industries.
But hey, what else would you expect from someone who apparently thinks you can tax a digital streaming license the same way you tax a shipment of steel? Absolutely clueless.
