‘May encourage Hollywood to move outside the US..’
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has responded to US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement to impose a 100% tariff on films produced outside the United States.
Kapur, on Monday, took to his X account to share his thoughts, saying that the move might backfire and push Hollywood to shift its operations outside the US.
“Over 75% of box office of Hollywood films come from outside the US. And a significant part of the budget of those films are spent outside the US. President Trump’s imposition of 100% tariff on all films imported into the US may encourage Hollywood to move outside the US! Quite the opposite of what he intended,” he wrote on X.
Meanwhile, President Trump made the announcement via his social media platform, Truth Social, stating, “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. 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. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN.”
Vipul Amrutlal Shah says ‘I don’t think it will be such a big loss’
In a conversation with ANI, Vipul said, “There are 2-3 aspects to this. First, there is not much detail about how this 100 per cent tariff will happen. Because our movies are directly distributed by Indian companies. There are a lot of movies that we appoint distributors and they distribute them. So tariff will be on Indian companies that distribute films there). How will it happen? What will happen? I think there are a lot of nitty-gritties that we will have to see now.”
He also talked about the India-US trade deal and shared that the film industry issue “will also be discussed. “There is a big discussion about a trade deal between the US and India. The issue is that the trade deal should be concluded before October. So, I think the film industry issue from our side will also be discussed in that trade deal. All tariffs will be rationalised.”
However, he asserted that there won’t be a “big loss” for the Indian film industry. “In India’s business pattern, America contributes 5-7 per cent of the overall box office of the film. And even if 5-7 per cent of the box office is reduced due to these tariffs, then it will not be a big loss for our film industry. But if they impose tariffs and if the Indian government imposes tariffs on their films, then our films will have to face stiff competition from their big films. That will also be reduced. So, it will be beneficial for our local box office. (Agencies)