U.S. president: “Concerted effort” to move production outside U.S. is national security threat
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social media site Truth Social on Sunday that he is authorizing the Department of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to start the process of imposing a “100%” tariff on movies “coming into [the United States] that are produced in Foreign Lands.” Trump added that the move is to counter what he described as a “concerted effort by other Nations” to draw the production of movies away from the United States, and says that such efforts are a “National Security threat.”
It remains unclear which anime would be affected by these proposed import taxes. Many modern anime productions are co-produced and financed by both Japanese companies and companies from other countries. While anime productions are still mostly staffed by Japanese staff members or people otherwise residing in Japan, some anime productions or individual episodes have been sub-contracted to Chinese or South Korean studios, or have hired animators in the United States (among other countries) and other staff members outside of Japan.
The exact implementation of this tariff also remains unclear. In March 2024, the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization extended a moratorium on tariffs on electronic transmissions (digital goods) until the next conference or March 31, 2026, whichever is earlier.
Background on New U.S. Tariffs
Trump announced a baseline tariff of 10% on global imports to the United States would start on April 5. He also announced self-described “reciprocal” tariffs would start against many countries on April 9. Vietnam and Cambodia would receive some of the highest additional tariff rates at 46% and 49%, respectively, while Japan and China would receive 24% and 34%, respectively. The president then suspended tariffs for almost all countries except China, which he continued raising to an effective 145% (including tariffs levied prior to the current administration) over a number of days, with China responding with an escalation of its own tariffs to the United States that so far has reached 125%.
The White House posted a list of products exempted from the additional tariffs after the April 2 announcement. That list includes “printed books, brochures, leaflets and similar printed matter,” which indicates books such as manga and other comic books physically printed in Asia would be exempted from the additional tariffs. The U.S. administration has since clarified other goods would be excluded from the tariffs, including steel and aluminum products, cars and car products, certain critical resources, smartphones, computers, and various electronic parts, among others.
The new U.S. tariffs would also affect toys, figures, and other merchandise produced in China, Vietnam, Japan, and elsewhere in Asia.
The U.S. administration noted that it can raise tariffs further or lower them, depending on how countries respond. The current situation on the U.S.’s new protectionist tariff policy is extremely fluid and volatile, and has seen changes and clarifications almost every day.
Sources: Truth Social, IndieWire (Harrison Richlin), Deadline (Ted Johnson), World Trade Organization
