by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Worthy News) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that annual revenues from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs may exceed $500 billion, with August already showing a major surge in customs duty collections and September expected to climb even higher.
Speaking at a White House Cabinet meeting, Bessent acknowledged that his earlier projection of $300 billion a year had fallen short. “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. This administration, your administration, has made a meaningful dent in the budget deficit.”
The influx of tariff revenue is helping offset the budgetary impact of Republicans’ recently passed tax-cut and spending package, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) previously estimated would expand the deficit by $3.4 trillion over the next decade.
Tariff Collections Soaring
According to Treasury data, U.S. customs duties surged in July by nearly $21 billion compared with July 2024, a sharp increase linked to higher tariff rates implemented on August 7. By August 22, the government had already collected $29.6 billion in combined customs and excise taxes for the month–equaling the entire July total.
The month-to-month jump highlights how tariffs have rapidly become one of the federal government’s largest single sources of revenue.
CBO Projects Bigger Deficit Cuts
Last week, the CBO revised its long-term forecast, projecting Trump’s tariffs could slash federal deficits by $4 trillion over the next 10 years, up from its June estimate of $3 trillion. Bessent said he expects that number to rise further as tariff collections accelerate.
“This is a meaningful step toward restoring fiscal balance while protecting American industries,” Bessent added.
The figures mark one of the clearest signs yet that Trump’s tariff strategy is reshaping both U.S. trade flows and Washington’s fiscal outlook.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Official results confirmed Monday that Socialist Party candidate António José Seguro won Portugal’s presidential election with 66.7 percent of the vote, defeating André Ventura of the right-wing nationalist Chega (“Enough”) party.
Despite what advocates describe as decades of persecution, discrimination, and insecurity, Pakistan’s Christians remain steadfast in their faith and committed to peaceful coexistence, a leading Christian rights advocate said Friday.
Pakistani Christians on Friday condemned a suicide bombing during weekly prayers at a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad that killed at least 31 people and injured 169 others in what officials described as the deadliest attack on Pakistan’s capital in more than a decade.
A single citizen tip ignited Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, a sweeping, week-long human trafficking operation that rescued nearly 20 children, uncovered residential brothels, and led to more than 600 arrests across California, authorities said this week.
Europe reeled Sunday after newly released U.S. Justice Department files detailing the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s global contacts shook royal houses and governments, triggering resignations, investigations and political fallout across several European countries.
The Trump administration announced it will no longer abide by the expired New START nuclear arms agreement, arguing the treaty fails to restrain Russia’s expanding arsenal and excludes China’s rapidly growing nuclear forces, according to a senior State Department official.
Hungary’s main opposition leader is demanding answers over 650 billion forints ($2 billion) in disputed funds linked to foundation structures created by the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), branding the case “the world’s biggest bank robbery.”