While the decision to impose a 100% tariff on all foreign films releasing in America has not yet been solidified, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) has condemned the move publicly. The decision taken by the US President, reportedly undertaken under the pretext of national security and with an aim to boost local film production, is likely to threaten the long-standing cultural and business ties between the Indian and American film industries.

“This move is not just shortsighted, it is self-defeating–askin to shooting someone in the foot,” said Abhay Sinha, IMPPA president.

Sinha also said that the association is in the process of writing to the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for immediate diplomatic intervention into the matter. The association will ask the Prime Minister to urge the US government to reconsider these unjust sanctions.

The public statement by IMPPA came after US President Donald Trump posted regarding the hundred per cent tariff on foreign films on his social media on Sunday. In the post, Trump instructed the Commerce Department and the US Trade Representative to place a 100% tariff on films that are produced outside the United States and imported into America.

Loss of the Film Industry

Stating that the American movie industry is dying a very fast death, Trump wrote, “Other countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Therefore, I am authorising 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 countries that are produced in foreign land.”

In recent times, Hollywood filmmakers have moved to places like London, Toronto, and Sydney for production work due to cheaper labour costs.