WASHINGTON: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that customs duty revenues from President Donald Trump’s tariffs may top US$500 billion a year, with a substantial jump from July to August and likely a bigger jump in September.
Bessent told a White House Cabinet meeting that his prior estimate of a US$300 billion annual tariff collection rate was too low.
“We had a substantial jump from July to August, and I think we’re going to see a bigger jump from August to September,” Bessent said. “So I think we could be on our way well over half a trillion, maybe towards a trillion-dollar number. This administration, your administration, has made a meaningful dent in the budget deficit.”