On May 5, 2025, Trump's executive order stirred up the world - the United States will impose a 100% tariff on all imported films produced overseas. This is not a simple "cultural protection", but a milestone event for the expansion of the US tariff war from commodity trade to service trade. When the camera turns from steel and soybeans to Hollywood movies, this economic game has evolved into a comprehensive confrontation of ideologies. Trump shouted "Even if the economy is in recession, we must fight China to the end", but behind this bold statement, is it a strategic sobriety or a political gamble?
1.Three proof POS machine printing paper Industrial moving packaging wrapping film Circle shape paper edge guard corner protector From commodities to culture: a breakthrough in the dimension of the tariff war
Trump's "precise strike" on the film industry this time marks the transition of the tariff war from traditional commodity trade to service trade. According to data from the US Department of Commerce, the US-China commodity trade deficit in 2024 will reach US$918.4 billion, while the service trade surplus will be as high as US$318 billion. As the "fist product" of the US service trade, movies contribute more than 10 billion US dollars in revenue to the Chinese market each year. Trump's move seems to be aimed at cultural output, but in fact he is trying to weaken China's global voice by attacking the Chinese film and television industry chain.
This dimensional breakthrough exposes the strategic anxiety of the United States.Three proof POS machine printing paper Industrial moving packaging wrapping film When the number of screens in Chinese cinemas exceeds 120,000 and domestic films account for more than 80% of the box office, Hollywood's absolute advantage is disintegrating. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger once said frankly: "Chinese audiences are no longer satisfied with popcorn movies, which forces us to innovate." Trump's tariff stick is actually to curb the rise of China's cultural industry.
2. Three proof POS machine printing paper Circle shape paper edge guard corner protector The triple calculation behind "America First"
The strategic intention of the Trump administration has long surpassed the simple economic correction.Three proof POS machine printing paper Industrial moving packaging wrapping film The first calculation is vote politics-maintaining the "red neck" base through tariff wars.Circle shape paper edge guard corner protector Unemployed workers in the Midwest Rust Belt regard tariffs as a "lifeline". Even if tariffs lead to rising prices, Trump still diverts contradictions through agricultural subsidies and populist narratives. Data shows that in the first quarter of 2025, exports from agricultural states to China plummeted by 40% year-on-year, but the federal subsidy coverage rate reached 78%, perfectly maintaining the vote alliance.
The second calculation targets technological containment.Industrial moving packaging wrapping film Circle shape paper edge guard corner protector According to a report by the Semiconductor Industry Association of the United States, China's chip packaging and testing accounts for 70% of the world, and rare earth processing technology has formed an absolute monopoly. When Yangtze Memory broke through the mass production of 5nm chips, the United States tried to cut off the equipment supply chain through tariffs. But this "seven-wound punch" backfired significantly: TSMC's Arizona factory was forced to shelve its 4nm chip mass production plan due to a 20% surge in equipment tariff costs.
The third calculation is to reconstruct the order. Trump asked allies to choose between "trade with China" and "tariff exemptions" in an attempt to turn the G7 into an anti-China alliance. But reality slapped them in the face - Japan's exports to China in the field of semiconductor materials grew by 23% against the trend, and German car companies even bypassed the US ban to export high-end machine tools to China. The bankruptcy of this "coercive diplomacy" exposed the end of the era of unipolar hegemony.