President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday that the country would be “completely destroyed” without the “trillions of dollars” of tariff revenue entering the U.S. economy.
The revelation came just days after a federal appeals court ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority by using emergency powers to impose new tariffs on imported goods.
TRUMP CALLS TARIFF WINDFALL ‘SO BEAUTIFUL TO SEE’ AS CASH SAILS IN
The ruling dealt a blow to Trump’s trade policy, a key pillar of his economic agenda, which leans heavily on tariffs to raise revenue and exert pressure on foreign trading partners.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the court allowed the tariffs to remain in effect until mid-October.
Trump has long touted tariffs as a key source of government revenue, and within months of his sweeping trade policies taking effect, billions of dollars had already flowed into federal coffers.
TRUMP’S TARIFF REVENUE HAS SKYROCKETED, SOARING PAST 2024 LEVELS
Tariff revenues rose steadily from approximately $17.4 billion in April to $23.9 billion in May, before climbing to $28 billion in June and peaking at $29.6 billion in July.
According to the Treasury Department’s latest “Customs and Certain Excise Taxes” data, released on Aug. 28, total tariff revenues have reached $183.1 billion for the fiscal year.
At the current pace, the U.S. could collect as much tariff revenue in just four to five months as it did over the entire previous year.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has previously said that the Trump administration could apply part of the tariff revenue toward lowering the national debt.
BESSENT SAYS TARIFF REVENUE COULD HELP PAY DOWN THE NATION’S $37.2T DEBT
“I think at a point we’re going to be able to do it,” Bessent said during an Aug. 19 interview with CNBC, adding that he and President Trump were “laser-focused on paying down the debt.”
“I think that we’re going to bring down the deficit-to-GDP, we will start paying down debt, and then at a point that can be used as an offset for the American people,” he said.
The nation’s debt is nearing $37.2 trillion as of Aug. 18, according to the Treasury Department.
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The staggering figure has intensified the long-standing debate in Washington over government spending, taxation and efforts to rein in the ballooning deficit.
Bessent said he anticipates revising this year’s tariff revenue estimate above the previous $300 billion projection. While he did not offer a new forecast, he emphasized the total would be “substantially” higher.
