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Trump says authorizing agencies to start process of

imposing

tariff

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Commerce Secretary Lutnick posts on X: 'We're on it.'

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Trump says US movie industry dying a 'very fast death'

(Adds background paragraphs 7-13)

By Andrea Shalal and Tim Reid

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald

Trump on Sunday announced a 100% tariff on movies produced

outside the country, saying the American movie industry was

dying a "very fast death" due to the incentives that other

countries were offering to lure filmmakers.

"This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore,

a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything

else, messaging and propaganda," Trump said in a post on Truth

Social.

Trump said he was authorizing the relevant government

agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, to immediately

begin the process of imposing a 100% tariff on all films

produced abroad that are then sent into the United States.

He added: "WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!"

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posting on X said: "We're

on it."

Neither Lutnick nor Trump provided any details on how the

tariffs would be implemented.

It was unclear if the tariffs would apply to movies on

streaming services as well as those shown in theaters, or if

they would be calculated based on production costs or box office

revenue. Hollywood executives were trying to sort out details on

Sunday night. The Motion Picture Association, which represents

the major studios, had no immediate comment.

In January, Trump appointed Hollywood veterans Jon Voight,

Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson to bring Hollywood back

"bigger, better and stronger than ever before."

Movie and TV production has been exiting Hollywood for

years, heading to locations with tax incentives that make

filming cheaper.

Governments around the world have increased credits and cash

rebates to attract productions and capture a greater share of

the $248 billion that Ampere Analysis predicts will be spent

globally in 2025 to produce content.

All major media companies, including Walt Disney ( DIS ),

Netflix ( NFLX ) and Universal Pictures, film overseas

in countries such as Canada and Britain.

In 2023, about half of the spending on movie and TV projects

with budgets of more than $40 million went outside the U.S.,

according to research firm ProdPro.

Film and television production has fallen by nearly 40% over

the last decade in Hollywood's home city of Los Angeles,

according to FilmLA, a non-profit that tracks the region's

production.

The January wildfires accelerated concerns that producers

may look outside Los Angeles, and that camera operators, costume

designers, sound technicians and other behind-the-scenes workers

may move out of town rather than try to rebuild in their

neighborhoods.

A ProdPro survey of executives found California was the

sixth most preferred place to film in the next two years, behind

Toronto, Britain, Vancouver, Central Europe and Australia.

Hollywood producers and labor unions have been urging

Governor Gavin Newsom to boost the state's tax incentives to

better compete with other locations.

Trump's proposed movie tariff follows a series of trade

conflicts initiated by his administration, which have roiled

markets and led to fears of a U.S. recession.

Former senior Commerce official William Reinsch, a senior

fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies,

said retaliation against Trump's film tariffs would be

devastating.

"The retaliation will kill our industry. We have a lot more

to lose than to gain," he said, adding it would be difficult to

make a national security or national emergency case for movies.