The MPA declined to comment on Monday (US time). The association’s members include Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros and Amazon.

Much about Trump’s effort remains unclear. What kinds of movies, exactly, would face tariffs? Would tariffs apply only to movies receiving tax incentives from foreign countries, or to any movie with scenes shot overseas? What about foreign films? Or post-production visual effects work? Amid those and many other questions, several analysts said it was highly unlikely that a 100 per cent tariff on all movies made overseas would materialise.

On Monday morning, a spokesperson for the White House, Kush Desai, clarified that “no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made” but added that “the administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive”. Trump told reporters on Monday that he planned to meet with entertainment industry representatives, adding: “I’m not looking to hurt the industry; I want to help the industry.”

The industry has been desperate for help – just not this kind.

Loading

Generous government incentives and cheaper labour have lured film and television to shoot many of their projects far from Hollywood, even though the vast majority of movies shown in American cinemas are technically produced in the United States.

That has left Los Angeles in a lurch. Thousands of middle-class film workers — camera operators, set decorators, lighting technicians, makeup artists, caterers, electricians — have seen work evaporate.

In a statement, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees said tens of thousands of jobs across the United States had been lost in the past two years.

“The United States needs a balanced federal response to return film and television jobs,” the union’s president, Matthew D. Loeb, said. The union praised Trump for recognising the threat that international competition poses to domestic film industry jobs, but Loeb said: “We await further information on the administration’s proposed tariff plan.” He added that the union said it would not support a plan that would harm its Canadian members, or the industry overall.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the head of SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents actors, said in a statement: “We look forward to learning more about the specifics of the plan announced by the president and to advancing a dialogue to achieve our common goals.”

Loading

Industry workers and state officials have sought to increase the amount of funding for filming made available by the state of California, and some have also begun pushing for a federal tax credit that can layer on top of state incentives. (More than three dozen states already offer incentives to lure film and television production.)

Governor Gavin Newsom of California, a Democrat, has pushed to more than double the available funding for the state’s tax incentive program. Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, deferred judgment on the president’s call for a tariff. “If the president announces a proposal with more details,” he said, “we will review it.”

On Monday, an array of state and federal lawmakers, unions and moviemakers sought to express appreciation for Trump’s attention to the issue while pushing for tax credits, rather than a tariff.

Loeb, for instance, said his union had recommended that the Trump administration introduce a federal film production tax incentive. California senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat, is working on a federal film incentive proposal, his office said.

“I share the administration’s desire to bring movie-making back to the United States,” Schiff said in a statement. “While blanket tariffs on all films would have unintended and potentially damaging impacts, we have an opportunity to work together to pass a major federal film tax credit to re-shore American jobs in the industry.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Coming soon: Must-see movies, interviews and all the latest from the world of film delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our Screening Room newsletter.