Donald Trump, the President of the United States, announced reciprocal tariffs targeting global trade partners in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 2. According to a press release titled “Historic Tariffs, Border Security, Safer Cities,” distributed by the White House on the 3rd (local time), the U.S. has collected a cumulative $158 billion (approximately 220 trillion won) in tariffs by August this year, more than 2.5 times that of the same period last year.
In August alone, tariff income was $31 billion (about 43 trillion won), with monthly increases recorded as $17.4 billion in April, $23.9 billion in May, $28 billion in June, and $29 billion in July. The White House stated that even the “left-leaning Congressional Budget Office (CBO)” acknowledged that President Trump’s tariff policy would reduce the government deficit by $4 trillion (including interest payments) over the next 10 years.
Considering that reciprocal tariffs began in earnest in August, the increase in tariff income is expected to be even larger in the remaining four months. Scott Bassan, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, stated in a cabinet meeting on the 26th of last month that “tariff income will increase more between August and September” and could “exceed $500 billion annually and reach $1 trillion.”
However, there is some criticism that the tariffs may ultimately be passed on as a burden to American consumers. The White House also reported that due to President Trump’s immigration restriction policies, the influx of immigrants from Central America, a region known as a “criminal infiltration” route, has decreased by 97%, and the number of unaccompanied minors brought in by criminal smugglers has dropped by 93%. The White House further stated that “President Trump’s America First policy is producing historic results at an unprecedented pace,” attributing this to “bold leadership.”