How can you do a tariff on films?

The assertion that some films are now produced in countries such as New Zealand is a national security threat to the United States is, ummm, somewhat over stated.

Now the world would be a better place if different countries and cities did not compete with each other to offer rebates on film production. But no one can afford to unilaterally “disarm” so to speak. It is worth noting that US states such as California, New York and Georgia all offer subsidies similar to what countries like New Zealand and Ireland do. So having countries drop these incentives while US states do not, is unlikely.

How a tariff on so called foreign produced films would work is far from obvious. Most of the films are still owned by US companies. They don’t import the films into the US – they are US companies. And almost all films have parts of them made overseas, such as special effects etc. So what would you put a tariff on? The ticket price?

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