In April, US tariff revenues soared to $16.5 billion, reaching a historical high.

Data released by the US Treasury Department on Friday shows that the daily average tariff revenue collected by US customs in April reached a record-breaking $16.5 billion, with this revenue reflecting for the first time the impact of President Trump's newly implemented widespread tariffs. Since about two-thirds of importers pay tariffs in a lump sum the month after their goods arrive at US ports, the deadline for tariff payments in April was this Wednesday, with this revenue being based on concentrated payments for goods arriving in April. However, based on the current rate of collection, data also shows that President Trump's goal of bringing in $20 billion in tariff revenue per day to help fund the record tax cuts plan passed by the House of Representatives this week may be difficult to achieve. President Trump's tariff goals themselves have been continuously changing. Just on Friday, he once again threatened to impose a new round of 50% tariffs on goods from the European Union, and to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics unless these two smartphone manufacturers move their production lines back to the US. Additionally, President Trump has issued retaliatory tariff threats against most countries globally, although these tariffs have currently been suspended for 90 days to address selling pressure in the US Treasury market. The new tariffs currently being collected mainly include: a 10% base tariff on goods from most countries, a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum, and a 25% tariff on cars. The tariff on Chinese goods was around 20% when Trump took office, soared to 145% at one point, and is currently at 51%. Although the Treasury Department's data does not specifically differentiate sources of tariffs and includes some consumption taxes collected by the Department of Homeland Security, overall, the total customs duties and related tax revenue for April was at least $22.3 billion, reaching a new historical high on a monthly basis. Foreign media outlets point out that in terms of absolute amount (rather than as a percentage of GDP), this is the highest monthly level on record.