US President Donald Trump has announced a sweeping 100 per cent tariff on all foreign-produced films, calling the decline of Hollywood a national security threat and accusing other countries of deliberately luring American studios abroad with financial incentives.

Trump made the declaration via a post on his platform, Truth Social, saying, “The industry in America is dying a very fast death. Other countries are offering all sorts of movie incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. This is a concerted effort by other nations and, therefore, a national security threat.”

He emphasized that the issue also involves messaging and propaganda, stating, “Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100 per cent tariff on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands. We want movies made in America again.”

In a press briefing at the White House, Trump criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom, blaming him for the decline of film production in the state. He claimed that foreign nations are “stealing” the moviemaking business from the US by offering more attractive tax and production incentives.

“If they’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States, we should have a tariff when movies come in,” Trump added.

The US film industry has faced major challenges in recent years, including labor strikes, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and production cuts, particularly in California, where film and TV production has declined due to reduced budget allocations and competition from international locations.

In an earlier move in January, Trump appointed actors Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone as special ambassadors for Hollywood, tasked with reviving business in the struggling entertainment sector. “They will serve as special envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to foreign countries, back—bigger, better and stronger than ever before!” Trump wrote at the time.

The tariff move is expected to draw global attention and could spark disputes in international trade circles, especially with major film-exporting countries.