According to newly released Treasury Department data, the U.S. government collected $29.6 billion in tariff revenue in July.
This marks the highest monthly total so far this year and brings the year-to-date tariff revenue to more than $152 billion.
If the pace continues, annual tariff revenue could reach $308 billion by the end of fiscal 2025, as reported by The Kobeissi Letter.
August tariff changes
The record figure comes just days before the new wave of global tariff rate changes scheduled for August 7.
Originally set for August 1, the change was postponed by The White House to give the U.S. Customs and Border Protection more time to prepare.
In addition, President Trump also unveiled new major trade agreements with Japan, the European Union (EU), and South Korea, among others. India, however, took a hit, now facing a 25% flat tariff on all goods.
While the spike in revenue may come with long-term economic costs, including rising consumer prices, Trump suggested that some of the tariff revenue might be distributed directly to American households.
“There could be a distribution or a dividend to the people of our country, I would say for people that would be middle income people and lower income people, we could do a dividend.,” Trump said leaving his golf course, as reported by Reuters.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) also estimates that the tariffs could reduce federal borrowing by $2.5 trillion over the next decade, implying the current policies are proving lucrative.
In the past, Trump also floated the idea of replacing some taxes with tariffs, which raised a lot of criticism since said tariffs would need to be exceptionally high. Replacing additional lost revenue could also potentially lead to new taxes, bringing everything back to square one.
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