Hours after US President Donald Trump declared a 100% tariff on films produced outside the country, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur voiced his criticism of the action. Kapur, whose work on Queen Elizabeth I garnered two Academy Awards in the West, asserted that the measure would be detrimental to American cinema and could potentially lead Hollywood to consider relocating outside the United States.
Taking to X Kapur wrote, "Over 75% of box office of Hollywood films come from outside the US. And significant part of the budget of those films are spent outside the US."
Talking about how the move may affect American cinema, the filmmaker added, “President Trump’s imposition of 100% tarif on all films imported into the US may encourage Hollywood to move outside the US! Quite the opposite of what he intended.”
On Sunday, Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on films produced outside the United States. He claimed the American movie industry was experiencing a "very fast death" due to other countries offering incentives to attract filmmakers.
Trump stated on 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." He further announced that he was authorizing relevant government agencies, including the Department of Commerce, to immediately start the process of imposing a 100% tariff on all foreign-produced films entering the US.
Neither Trump nor Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick offered details on how these tariffs would be implemented. It remained unclear whether the tariffs would apply to movies on streaming services in addition to those in theaters, or if they would be based on production costs or box office revenue. Hollywood executives were attempting to clarify these details on Sunday night. The Motion Picture Association, representing major studios, did not immediately comment.