As 2024 was a record-breaking year for the industry in of revenue generated from American audiences, as popular streaming platforms continue to battle with one another to bring the biggest anime properties to their services. It seems trouble is on the horizon, however, as U.S. President Donald Trump has called for tariffs to be imposed on all films produced outside the country.

The latest development has come as a shock to just about all fans of film, and, if put into action, will have drastic effects on the way international media is enjoyed. Unfortunately, the booming anime industry may just take the hardest hit. Trump originally posted his statement on his own social media site, Truth Social, where he explained the tariffs are in response to a "concerted effort" by other nations to "draw filmmakers and studios away from the United States", which he labeled a threat to National Security.

Trump Calls For 100% Tariffs on Internationally-Produced Movies

The U.S. President Seeks to Have "Movies Made in America Again"

When asked about the move by The Hollywood Reporter, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said, “Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the istration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again.” Despite the apparent certainty of Trump's statements, it appears that the White House is still trying to find the best way to deliver on the President's promise.

As Desai's comments suggest, the exact details of the tariffs and how exactly they would function remain unclear, and it would be difficult to infer who exactly would be paying them and what would qualify as "movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands." Nevertheless, President Trump stated that he is authorizing the Department of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to institute a 100% tariff on "any and all movies" produced outside the United States, claiming that other countries are offering incentives to draw filmmakers away from their home soil.

Film production and distribution aren't exactly simple matters. American-made movies often use a number of locations to shoot, and will be produced and financed by companies located both in the United States and other countries. Staff can also be contracted from other studios worldwide to help on a film, a practice commonly seen in animation. It's unclear what exactly would make a movie foreign under the new tariff, though any definition will prove troublesome for filmmakers around the world.

Fans of Marvel are likely aware that the powerhouse studio has moved the majority of movie production to London. The The Fantastic Four: First Steps is confirmed to have been shot in England, while future Avengers and Spider-Man films are said to have begun production there as well. How exactly the tariffs will affect American production companies like Marvel Studios is uncertain, though for anime, which is almost entirely produced in Japan, any potential tariffs will likely be devastating.

Trump's New Policy Will Cause Problems For the Anime Industry

The United States s for a Large Portion of Anime Viewership

As anime's popularity grows worldwide, the biggest titles are expanding from TV and into film. 2020's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train is not only the highest-grossing Japanese movie in history, but also the third-highest-grossing traditionally animated movie ever, behind only The Lion King and The Simpsons Movie. Recent years have seen a drastic rise in the number of anime films finding their way to the United States and performing well at the domestic box office.

This is largely thanks to distributors like GKIDS, who have brought both classic and new anime movies to U.S. theaters every year, along with their annual Studio Ghibli Fest, which includes the screening of several movies from the instantly recognizable studio year-round. The recent run of 1998's Princess Mononoke in IMAX was incredibly successful, shattering the film's original box office performance. Unfortunately, though it's still unconfirmed, it's likely that the distributors bringing these films to U.S. theaters will be the ones paying the tariffs.

Though anime productions typically receive funding and production help from around the world, including sourcing animation work from American staff, they are Japanese productions, and would fall under Trump's stated definition of movies produced outside the U.S. It remains to be seen whether TV shows are included, though if so, the tariffs would be destructive to the anime industry, where North American viewers generated more streaming revenue in 2023 than anywhere else in the world.

Adam Deats, co-director of Netflix's Castlevania, shared his thoughts in a post on X, stating, "If it's a broad policy, it would single-handedly decimate the 2D animation industry overnight," before adding, "Killing American viewership would also damage the anime industry severely." The news spells trouble for anime fans living in the United States, and seemingly couldn't have come at a worse time, as several highly anticipated anime films are set to release in the near future.

Highly Anticipated Anime Movies May Be Affected by Trump's New Policy

Exciting New Anime Movies Are Set to Release in the Near Future

While no new tariffs are in effect just yet, there are a number of anime films just around the corner that fans have been looking forward to for some time. The first of the Demon Slayer trilogy of films is set to land in U.S. theaters on September 12, 2025, and following the massive success of Mugen Train in 2020, both fans and execs in the industry expect the movie to perform well.

The trilogy will bring the incredibly popular series to a close, and though countless anime fans are excited, some in the U.S. may have trouble actually seeing it if the new tariff is put in place. The same goes for the highly anticipated Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc, set to release on October 29, 2025, marking the return of one of anime's hottest titles following a near three-year-long hiatus.

Whether films already acquired by distributors for U.S. release will be affected in any way by the tariff remains to be seen, though there are plenty coming in the future that undoubtedly would be. Nothing is confirmed as of yet, but it seems troubling times may be ahead for the anime industry and fans of the many titles which have seen great success in the United States.

Sources: Truth Social, AdamDeats on X