Mumbai: — Celebrated filmmakerShekhar Kapur has weighed in on U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to impose a 100% tariff on all foreign-produced films entering the U.S., warning that the decision may end up harming Hollywood more than helping it.
Taking to his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, Kapur pointed out the global nature of the movie business, noting that a large portion of Hollywood’s revenue and production activity already happens outside American borders.
“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,” Kapur wrote.
“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.”
Kapur’s comments came just a day after President Trump took to Truth Social to declare the U.S. film industry was under siege from foreign governments offering aggressive production incentives — and described the issue as a “national security threat.”
“Hollywood… is being devastated,” Trump claimed.
“I am authorizing… 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!”
The announcement has rattled the global entertainment sector, which is still recovering from pandemic-era losses and labor strikes. Critics argue that the tariff could destabilize international co-productions, raise prices for foreign-language films in the U.S., and invite retaliatory action from other countries.
Kapur’s remarks also echo broader industry fears that such a protectionist policy could backfire, driving more productions abroad rather than reviving U.S.-based filmmaking — especially in the absence of competitive domestic tax incentives.
The move also follows rising tensions in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war. Notably, China’s National Film Administration announced on April 10 that it would “moderately reduce” the number of Hollywood releases permitted in the country — explicitly citing recent U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
Kapur, whose own career has spanned Hollywood and Bollywood, is among the first major global filmmakers to speak out on the matter, highlighting the interconnectedness of modern cinema and the potential for such policies to isolate rather than invigorate American film.