President Trump's tariffs continued to be felt by importers in May with a measure of government receipts for "Customs and Certain Excise Taxes" already topping $22.3 billion this month, according to Treasury Department data. The monthly total is likely to rise only slightly in the coming days, with importers often depositing their tariff duties largely in a single day. A massive deposit of more than $16.5 billion appeared in government coffers on May 22.
May's total so far has already topped April's full-month haul of $17.4 billion — not to mention March's haul of $9.6 billion. It was a continuation of revenue spikes seen during Trump's second term in office, which dwarfed recent history and Trump's first term. All told, more than $92 billion has flowed into government coffers since Jan. 1.
May's surge in revenue came as many of Trump's duties were only felt for an entire month after his biggest tariffs — 10% duties on nearly every country in the world — took effect on April 5. The haul also came after other new concessions from Trump this month that saw a slashing of tariffs on China and a limited lowering of duties on the UK. Trump added Tuesday in a social media post that more duties could be coming, saying of his decision to delay 50% tariffs on Europe for now, "Remember, I am empowered to 'SET A DEAL' for Trade into the United States if we are unable to make a deal."
Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet The president is also threatening new tariffs in the weeks and months ahead, including new sector-specific tariffs to be announced on items such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals and possible tariffs aimed at companies like Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (005930.KS). The data is significant but could be slightly overstated, with the Treasury Department reporting both customs duties and certain excise taxes as a single category from the Department of Homeland Security. Excise taxes are different from customs duties.
More precise data for only customs duties is expected to be available in a few weeks. But customs duties have historically made up the lion's share of the combined figure. President Trump at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Memorial Day.
(Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) · SAUL LOEB via Getty Images A sliver of total government receipts Trump himself has regularly touted the surge of government tariff receipts, suggesting the US government is on its way to a repeat of an era in US history that ended more than a century ago when tariffs made up a significant portion of government revenues. "We're going to make a lot of money [from tariffs] and that money's going to be used to reduce taxes," Trump said on April 23. "We're going to get big, big tax breaks."
