Trump, in an evening post on his social media platform Truth Social, said he has instructed the Commerce Department and US Trade Representative to place a 100% tariff on films that are produced outside the United States and imported into America.

The president called the use of incentives by foreign countries to draw filmmakers and studios away from the U.S. a national security threat.

US President Donald Trump says he will hit movies made in foreign countries with 100% tariffs, as he ramps up trade disputes with nations around the world. Trump said he was authorising the US Department of Commerce and Trade Representative to start the process to impose the levy because America's movie industry was dying "a very fast death".