U.S. tariff revenues increased by 65% after Trump's inauguration, surpassing $100 billion

After President Donald Trump took office, U.S. government tariff revenues have surpassed $100 billion (about ₩135 trillion).

On the 30th (local time), U.S. media Axios reported, citing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, that tariff revenues collected under measures implemented since President Trump’s inauguration on January 20 of this year amounted to $106.1 billion (about ₩143 trillion) as of the 27th of last month. Of this, $81.5 billion—most of the total—came from tariffs imposed since Trump took office.

According to Treasury Department data, cumulative tariff revenue through the end of May this fiscal year was about 65% higher than the same period last year. With this trend, the annual U.S. tariff revenue is expected to exceed government projections this year.

Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson last April that annual U.S. tariff revenues could exceed $300 billion and reach as much as $600 billion.

According to the Yale Budget Research Institute, the current effective U.S. tariff rate is 15.6%, the highest since the late 1930s. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, the U.S. implemented the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, causing the effective tariff rate to soar above 20%.

The Trump administration implemented differentiated reciprocal tariffs on April 9 for 57 economic entities (56 countries + European Union), including South Korea, but postponed them for 90 days (except for China) just 13 hours later. This grace period ends on the 8th. If not extended, reciprocal tariffs will be imposed starting on the 9th.

Yonghyun Shin, Hankyung.com reporter yonghyun@hankyung.com