TMTPOST -- The White House appears to soften the hard line on planned levies on the movie industry after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to slap the movie tariff to save Hollywood.
Credit：China Central Television
White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai on Monday said the government is looking into various options and has not made final decision on the tariffs on foreign-made movies. “Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the administration 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,” said Desai in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Trump also seemed to walk back the idea of movie tariff. He told reporters at White House on Monday that he would would ask Hollywood studios if “they’re happy” with his proposed tariffs. “I’m not looking to hurt the industry, I want to help the industry,” Trump said.
Trump said his administration will meet the U.S. film industry and he wants to “make sure they’re happy with it because we’re all about jobs.” The president also said the industry in the United States “has been decimated by other countries taking them out, and also by incompetence, like in Los Angeles, the governor (Gavin Newsom) is a grossly incompetent man, he’s just allowed it to be taken away from.”
Trump on Sunday declared he would impose the 100% tariff on movies produced outside the U.S.
"The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death. Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated," he wrote in the a post on his social media Truth Social.
"This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda! Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands," he added.
Shares in the film and entertainment industry pared their losses at midday as Trump and a White House official indicated they are still weighing the proposal of tariffs on Monday. Warner Bros. Discovery dipped more than 5% soon after the market open and finished 2% lower, and Netflix tumbled as much as 4.4% and closed 1.9% lower. Walt Disney fell up to 2.7% and eked out a decline of 0.4% as of close.
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