Trump Tariff Impact…"U.S. Fiscal Deficit Expected to Decrease by ₩5,500 Trillion Over 10 Years"

A report has been released stating that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes could reduce the U.S. fiscal deficit by $4 trillion (₩5,539 trillion) over the next 10 years.

According to Reuters on the 22nd (local time), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), an agency under the U.S. Congress, said that if the current tariffs on imports into the United States remain in place, increased tax revenue would lead to such outcomes.

CBO estimates that over the next 10 years, the fiscal deficit could decrease by $3.3 trillion (₩4,570 trillion), and the federal government’s interest payments due to the deficit could drop by $700 billion (₩969 trillion).

This forecast is larger than the CBO’s June projections, which anticipated a $2.5 trillion (₩3,462 trillion) decrease in the fiscal deficit and a $500 billion (₩692 trillion) reduction in interest payments.

According to Oxford Economics, the average U.S. tariff rate on foreign goods as of August is 16.7%, higher than June’s 15.1%.

The increased tariff revenue is expected to offset the rise in fiscal deficit resulting from the large-scale tax cut bill passed by Congress last month.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the current federal government debt stands at $37.18 trillion (₩5,148.7 trillion).

Seulkee Lee, Hankyung.com Reporter seulkee@hankyung.com