US customs duties top $100bn for first time in a financial year

US customs duty collections surged again in June as President Donald Trump’s tariffs gained steam, topping $100 billion for the first time during a fiscal year and helping to produce a surprise $27 billion budget surplus for the month, the treasury department reported on Friday.The budget data showed that tariffs are starting to build into a significant revenue contributor for the federal govt, with customs duties in June hitting new records, quadrupling to $27.2 billion on a gross basis and $26.6 billion on a net basis after refunds.The budget results are likely to reinforce Trump’s view of tariffs as a lucrative revenue source and as a hammer to enforce non-trade foreign policy. He said on Tuesday that “the big money” would start to flow in after he imposes higher “reciprocal” tariffs on US trading partners on Aug 1.US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on X that the results show the US “reaping the rewards” from Trump’s tariff agenda. “As President Trump works hard to take back our nation’s economic sovereignty, today’s Monthly Treasury Statement is demonstrating record customs duties – and with no inflation!” Bessent said.For the first nine months of fiscal 2025, the customs take reached records of $113.3 billion on a gross basis and $108 billion on a net basis, nearly double the prior-year collections.

The govt’s fiscal year ends on Sept 30.In the space of roughly four months, tariffs as a share of federal revenue have more than doubled to around 5% from about 2% historically.The June budget surplus represented a turnaround from the $71 billion deficit in June 2024. The new tariff-related revenue helped boost total budget receipts last month by 13%, or $60 billion, to $526 billion, a record for that month, the Treasury said.

Outlays in June fell 7%, or $38 billion, to $499 billion.The overall year-to-date deficit, however, increased 5%, or $64 billion, to $1.337 trillion, as outlays rose for health care programs, Social Security retirement benefits, defence spending, debt interest and the department of homeland security, the Treasury said.REUTERS