NEW: Trump Announces ‘External Revenue Service’ To Collect Tariffs, Revenue From Foreign Countries

In a surprise announcement Tuesday morning, President-elect Donald Trump declared that his new administration would be immediately launching an “External Revenue Service” focused on collecting tariffs and revenue from foreign countries he stated are manipulating the international economy to the detriment of the United States.

The news, broken by the president-elect on Truth Social, came as a welcome surprise to followers who have supported the Republican’s mission to enact steep tariffs on countries like China, India, and Mexico, which they claim have stifled the U.S. economy by employing overseas workers who manufacture goods for less before they are imported. The change was framed by Trump as a way to shift the burden of funding the federal government off the backs of taxpayers and onto some of the countries that most stand to benefit from a strong domestic economy. “For far too long, we have relied on taxing our Great People using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Going on, Trump cited “weak Trade agreements” without mentioning them, though he has been explicit in his condemnation of NAFTA, the decades-long deal between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico that offers both foreign countries advantageous terms to import goods with lower or nonexistent tariffs. Last month, President-elect Trump admonished Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for benefitting from a system that he alleges offers the northern neighbor a $100 billion trade surplus. “Through soft and pathetically weak Trade agreements, the American Economy has delivered growth and prosperity to the World, while taxing ourselves,” Trump wrote. “It is time for that to change. I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources,” he wrote. “We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fair share.”

Trump, who is set to be sworn in on January 20th, promised to launch the “External Revenue Service” on day one. “January 20, 2025, will be the birth date of the External Revenue Service,” he added, signing off with a trademark pledge to “Make America Great Again.” If enacted, the new arm of the government could ostensibly work to enforce Trump’s promised tariffs on the aforementioned countries; he has said he will increase tariffs on imports from China by 10% and impose 25% fees on products from Canada and Mexico, CNBC reported. Asked for comment by the outlet, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung replied, “I’d refer you to President Trump’s post on Truth Social.” The post has garnered over 66,000 likes and 18,000 “ReTruths” as of Wednesday morning.

In addition to his promise to establish a new federal agency for external revenue, Trump has pledged to launch the much-touted Department of Government Efficiency, which will be co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Both men have appealed to Democrats to join the new administration in its goal of eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse of tax dollars from the federal books, and so far, they appear to be having some success. In December, House Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) became the first Democrat to join a congressional caucus that will aid the new agency in its mission.