Daily revenue from US customs duties surged to a record $16.5 billion as importers made their monthly payments for goods that arrived in April, according to Treasury Department data released Friday. The sharp increase reflects the full effect of President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariff regime for the first time.
Roughly two-thirds of importers pay their duties in a single monthly payment, due the month after goods reach US ports. The deadline for April shipments fell on Wednesday.
Despite the spike, the figures indicate that Trump is unlikely to reach his goal of $2 billion a day in tariff revenue — a target that’s meant to offset the record tax cuts passed by the House earlier this week.
Trump’s tariff plans, however, remain fluid. On Friday, he threatened additional duties, including a 50% tariff on goods from the European Union and a 25% levy on Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. if the companies don’t shift production to the US. He has also proposed retaliatory tariffs against much of the world but paused collections for 90 days amid a sharp selloff in US Treasury bonds.
Currently, the new tariffs include a 10% base duty on most imports, a 25% charge on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on automobiles. Tariffs on Chinese goods have fluctuated wildly — starting around 20% when Trump took office, peaking at 145%, and now standing at 51%.
The Treasury’s report, which includes some excise taxes collected by the Department of Homeland Security, shows that with April payments now tallied, the government is on track to collect at least $22.3 billion in customs duties and related taxes this month. That would mark a new monthly high in absolute dollar terms, based on Bloomberg’s analysis of historical data.