US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that annual customs duty revenues from President Donald Trump’s tariffs could surge past $500 billion — and may even approach USD 1 trillion — as collections continue to rise sharply.

Speaking at a White House Cabinet meeting, Bessent acknowledged his earlier projection of $300 billion a year was far too low. “We had a substantial jump from July to August, and I think we’re going to see a bigger jump from August to September,” he said. “So I think we could be on our way well over half a trillion, maybe towards a trillion-dollar number.”

Bessent credited Trump’s trade policies for reducing the deficit burden. “This administration, your administration, has made a meaningful dent in the budget deficit,” he told the president.

The US Treasury reported that as of August 22, the government had already collected $29.6 billion in combined customs and excise taxes, equaling the entire July total. By contrast, collections on July 22 stood at just $7.8 billion. Officials say tariff revenue can fluctuate daily, but the steep rise followed significant increases in tariff rates on nearly all trading partners that took effect on August 7, according to Reuters.

Tariff receipts for July alone jumped by nearly $21 billion compared to the $7 billion collected in July 2024, roughly matching the surge seen in June.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) last week revised its projections upward, estimating that Trump’s tariffs could reduce federal deficits by $4 trillion over the next decade, up from its June forecast of $3 trillion. “I would expect that number could go up from here,” Bessent added.

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