Trump’s Tariff Strategy Aims for Trillion-Dollar Revenue Amid Global Trade Shakeup

The United States is fattening its till with tariffs. Following the announcement of the new 10% minimum levies that went into effect on August 7th on global imports, the country expects to collect $50 billion a month, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Last July, the estimate stood at just over $30 billion, before the tariffs were raised to a minimum of between 10% and 50%. Lutnick also warned that this figure is provisional, as amounts related to imports of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals would have to be added in the future.

The figure could continue to rise to the trillion dollars targeted by President Donald Trump. “These are staggering figures for the United States and no one is retaliating,“ Lutnick stressed, for whom the US consumer is “the most powerful factor on the planet” for the economy, “and Donald Trump is taking advantage of it for the benefit of the US,“ he assured.

The United States sets minimum tariffs between 10% and 50% worldwide

Trump announced on August 1st the imposition of new tariffs on dozens of trading partners, including a global minimum of 10% and levies starting at 15% for those countries that have a trade surplus with the United States, such as the European Union.

The text released by the White House includes, in particular, a list of nearly 70 countries to which specific tariffs will be applied, ranging from a minimum of 10% to 50% for Brazil, followed by 41% for Syria. States not on the list will have a pre-determined levy of 10%.

Other sectors have also been affected by the measures of the US president, who warned that tariffs for pharmaceutical imports could reach 250%, and “approximately” 100% for the import of chips and semiconductors.