The global trade war just turned cinematic.
In a fiery escalation to President Trump’s latest threat of a 50% tariff hike on Chinese imports, Beijing is preparing to ban Hollywood movies and slap new duties on American agriculture and poultry in a sweeping response it called a rejection of the U.S.’s “blackmailing nature.”
The news, revealed by a Chinese state-linked journalist on BBC Radio 4, would slam the brakes on U.S. film earnings in China—Hollywood’s second-largest international market—where U.S. films grossed $585 million last year.
Upcoming blockbusters like Jurassic World: Rebirth, The Accountant 2, and the latest Mission Impossible could be locked out, losing hundreds of millions in potential box office revenue.
The move follows Trump’s Monday declaration that if China does not remove its 34% retaliatory tariffs by April 8, he will impose an additional 50% tariff, pushing U.S. levies on Chinese goods past 100%—an economic Armageddon scenario analysts are warning could be irreversible.
In response, Beijing blasted Washington’s tactics. “Tariff wars have no winners,” the Chinese foreign ministry said. “Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China.”
The commerce ministry added: “If the U.S. insists on having its way, China will fight to the end.”
Meanwhile, China’s state-linked enterprises are moving to stabilize domestic markets, pledging stock buybacks and liquidity injections. But analysts say the blow to China’s export-led recovery from COVID could be severe if the standoff persists.
Markets across the globe remain in freefall, with Apple, Tesla, and other U.S. multinationals caught in the crossfire. Trump, however, remains unmoved. “It won’t be easy,” he said on Truth Social, “but the end result will be historic.”
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