U.S. tariff revenue surged to historic highs in 2025, reflecting a sharp shift in trade policy following President Donald Trump’s return to office.
Data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury shows cumulative customs duties climbed to $264 billion by the end of 2025, more than tripling from $79 billion collected in 2024. The year-on-year increase of roughly 234% marks the steepest acceleration in tariff revenue on record.
Notably, the divergence between 2024 and 2025 widened steadily through the year. While tariff collections in 2024 followed a gradual, almost linear path, 2025 traced a much steeper curve, indicating not only higher tariffs but also a faster pace of collection as the year progressed.
By midyear, cumulative revenue in 2025 had already surpassed the full-year total recorded in 2024.
December alone generated $28 billion in tariff revenue, roughly 300% higher than the same month a year earlier and about $21 billion more year-on-year.
This followed exceptionally strong inflows of around $31 billion in both October and November, confirming that elevated collections were sustained rather than front-loaded. Over the second half of 2025, monthly tariff revenue averaged close to $30 billion, a level that dwarfs the monthly run rate seen throughout 2024.
This acceleration suggests that businesses continued importing despite higher duties, absorbing the costs or passing them along rather than sharply cutting volumes.
2026 tariff revenue collection
If the late-2025 pace holds, tariff revenue is on track to reach around $360 billion in 2026, representing another year-on-year increase of roughly 36%.
Indeed, the revenue surge coincided with the administration’s renewed push for aggressive trade enforcement.
Shortly after returning to the White House, President Trump moved to expand and tighten tariff regimes across a broad range of imports, reviving and extending policies that had defined his earlier term.
These measures significantly raised effective duty rates and broadened the scope of goods subject to higher levies, rapidly translating into higher federal receipts.
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