NEW: Tariff Revenue Climbs To Record High

Tariff revenues for the month of August climbed to a record $31 billion as the Trump Administration continues to work out trade deals with outstanding trading partners.

“Now that August is in the books, tariff revenues topped over $31 billion in the month: a new record high,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in a social media post on Saturday. “As collection continues to grow, the Trump Administration is fixing the financial shambles it inherited.”

The post was accompanied by a graph showing revenue increasing incrementally since President Trump announced his ambitious tariff strategy back in April. The U.S. has since negotiated a number of trade deals with key economic partners, including Japan, South Korea and the European Union.

Most of the deals allow the U.S. to obtain full, barrier-free market access to key trading partners for exports while trading partners have agreed to pay tariffs upwards of 25 percent and higher. The administration is also currently in negotiations for a final framework with China.

All in all, Bessent projects that tariff revenues to possibly surpass $500 billion in 2025.

“We had a substantial jump from July to August, and I think we’re going to see a bigger jump from August to September,” Bessent said. “So I think we could be on our way well over half a trillion, maybe towards a trillion-dollar number. This administration, your administration, has made a meaningful dent in the budget deficit.”

The treasury secretary doubled down on his optimistic outlook while speaking with Fox News earlier this week, when he predicted that GDP growth could top five percent. “Every $300B adds 1% to GDP,” he said, adding, “With tariffs alone, growth could hit 5%.”

“Just with the tariff income, we’re going to be in the fives, which is incredible,” he continued, adding that the transition was like running a marathon, “and starting five miles before everybody else.”

Bessent also pointed to a shift in tone among some in the mainstream media over the last several weeks. “You’re starting to see in the mainstream media, whether it’s Wall Street Journal or The New York Times… people are getting addicted to tariff income.”