By Naveen Athrappully
Contributing Writer
The United States is on track to potentially raise “well over $300 billion” in tariff income by the end of the year, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a Tuesday White House Cabinet meeting.
“We have taken in about $100 billion in tariff income thus far this year,” Bessent said. “That’s with the major tariffs not having started ’til the second quarter.”
In April, the Trump administration announced a 10% tariff on all global imports. It came into effect in May. At the time, the White House said it expected the tariff to impact $3 trillion in goods imported by the United States annually.
In May, the government collected $22.17 billion in customs duties, up by almost 325% from $5.23 billion collected in May last year. In fiscal year 2025, until May, collections stand at $81.39 billion, higher by more than 65% from the $49.29 billion during the same period in 2024. The U.S. fiscal year 2025 began on Oct. 1, 2024, and ends on Sept. 30, 2025. Tariff calculation involves more than customs duties.
Bessent cited a June 4 report from the Congressional Budget Office, which estimates tariff collections over a 10-year period between 2025 and 2035 to be at $2.8 trillion.
“We don’t agree with CBO scoring,” he said, adding that the agency’s tariff collection estimate “is probably low.”
According to a Monday Daily Treasury Statement, the government had so far collected $124 billion in customs duties this fiscal year.
In addition to the 10% universal tariffs, the government had also instituted reciprocal tariffs on several nations in April depending on the trade barriers they had with the United States.
President Donald Trump initially signed a 90-day pause blocking reciprocal tariffs from being implemented, with the pause set to be lifted on July 9. On Monday, he signed an executive order that extended the deadline to Aug. 1.
The president also issued separate letters to several nations, including Japan, South Korea and Thailand, notifying them about individual tariffs that would be imposed on their nations following the Aug. 1 deadline.
Trump suggested that reciprocal tariffs, which range from 25 to 40%, could be lowered if nations open up their markets and bring down their trade barriers.
Once reciprocal tariffs come into effect, the government’s customs collections are expected to increase further.
“The big money will start coming in on Aug. 1st. I think it was made clear today by the letters that were sent out yesterday and today,” Trump said during the Tuesday Cabinet meeting.
Tariffs and Trade Deals
During an interview with CNN on Sunday, Bessent said countries failing to reach a deal with the United States by Aug. 1 will receive another letter informing them that they will be subjected to reciprocal tariffs beginning Aug. 2.
The government is “close to several deals,” the Treasury Secretary said, adding they are now focusing on 18 critical trading partners that make up roughly 95% of America’s trade deficit.
“As always, there’s a lot of foot-dragging on the other side, and so I would expect to see several big announcements over the next couple of days,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump said in a Tuesday Truth Social post that “there will be no change” to the tariff deadline of Aug. 1.
“In other words, all money will be due and payable starting Aug. 1, 2025 — No extensions will be granted,” he wrote.
In his Monday order extending the deadline, Trump had said it was “necessary and appropriate to extend the suspension” after taking into account recommendations from senior officials and the status of trade discussions with several nations.
On June 30, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Customs and Border Protection had collected $106.1 billion in customs revenue since the beginning of Trump’s second term, attributing $81.5 billion to the administration’s tariff policies.
“DHS and CBP are successfully implementing President Trump’s historic America First trade agenda,” said a senior DHS official.
“We are proud to help President Trump make America richer and reverse a broken trade system that resulted in millions of jobs shipped overseas and made us dependent on foreign adversaries for essential goods. This administration will always put the American first.”
