Trump officials say trillions of dollars in tariff revenue will pay for their tax cuts. Don’t hold your breath.
After passing tax cuts that will likely cost $5.5 trillion over the coming decade, the Trump administration is under increasing pressure to rein in soaring budget deficits. So what’s the plan? Tariffs, tariffs and more tariffs.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently claimed on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that tariff revenue “is going to pay off our deficit.” Administration estimates of 10-year tariff revenue have ranged from “substantial” (Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent) to $6 trillion (presidential adviser Peter Navarro) and now $7 trillion (Lutnick). Just last week, President Donald Trump asserted that these exorbitant projected gains even had him considering issuing tariff rebates to taxpayers.
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Jessica Riedl (formerly Brian Riedl) is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow her on Twitter here.
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