President Trump's tariff war is finally starting to bear fruit.
And this time it's not just rhetoric from Trump's speeches but evidence of soaring import tax collection data proving that Trump's actions are not just rhetoric, but provide real returns to the government.
In April alone, the United States collected a record $16.3 billion (around RM76 billion) in import tax revenue, more than double the same period last year and an 86% increase from March's collection.
This injection of funds helped the government record a budget surplus of $258 billion for the month, despite being burdened by high interest payments on the national debt of $36 trillion.
To date, tariff revenue for the fiscal year has reached $59.2 billion, driven by import taxes ranging from 10% to 145% imposed by Trump, especially on China.
But the joy may not last long, as the latest trade truce with Beijing will see tariffs temporarily reduced over the next 90 days.
The deficit remains large, at $1.049 trillion so far. But without the surge in tariff revenue in April, that number would have been much higher.
The trade war may be painful, but for now, it is like morphine to America’s deficit wounds. The question is, when Trump feels ‘high’, will the dose of tariffs be increased again, and will other countries become the new ‘dealers’ in America’s economic addiction?
