US President Donald Trump continues his aggressive stance on tariffs. After imposing 100% tariffs on branded drugs a couple of days ago, he now targets the film industry by slapping a similar charge on films made outside his country. This is a big blow for Indian movies in particular because USA is one of the biggest territories in overseas market. Particularly, Tollywood and Bollywood will be most affected with this decision.

On Monday evening, Trump said he will impose a 100% tariff on all movies made outside USA. He announced this news through a post on his ‘Truth Social’ account. ” Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America by other countries, just like stealing a candy from a baby”. This announcement formalises what Trump had hinted in May this year when he authorised the Department of Commerce to impose high duties on foreign films. Trump also stressed the need to bring production back home.

The decision comes amid trade tensions with India and China. Last week, he hiked the application fees of H-1B Visa to $ 1,00,000 and triggered anxiety among foreign job holders and students who aim for a lucrative career in USA. Now, he came up with a shocking decision which could potentially disrupt the theatrical run of Indian films in the coming days because distribution costs will significantly raise and thereby increase the ticket prices due to which the footfalls might reduce drastically.

Trump and his administration did not provide any additional details on this development. So, industry observers and insiders are yet to respond on this decision. Once the full resolution is passed, the impact will be assessed.