Record-breaking $27.7 tariff haul in July has Trump celebrating, but will it last?

Record US tariff revenue July 2025: US president Donald Trump is celebrating a record-breaking month for US tariff revenue due to the billions pouring into federal coffers as revenue supplied by importers hit another monthly record, as per a report. But economists and analysts are warning that the financial boost may be short-lived and that American businesses and consumers are footing most of the bill, as reported by Yahoo Finance.

Tariff Collections See Massive Year-Over-Year Growth

New data released Tuesday by the Treasury Department shows the US collected $27.7 billion in customs duties in July, a new monthly record and a sharp jump from the $26.6 billion collected in June and $22.2 billion in May, as per the report. Just a year ago, monthly tariff collections hovered around $8 billion, according to Yahoo Finance. Altogether, tariff revenue for the current fiscal year has climbed to roughly $135.7 billion, with two months still to go before the government's fiscal year ends on September 30, as per Yahoo Finance.

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Donald Trump Hails July Tariff Revenue Surge as a Win

In a post on Truth Social, Trump celebrated the milestone, calling the revenue "has been incredible for our Country, its Stock Market, its General Wealth, and just about everything else," as quoted in the report. He also took a swipe at Goldman Sachs, which has raised concerns about the long-term effects of his tariffs and disputed his repeated claim that foreign nations are the ones paying the duties, according to the Yahoo Finance report.

Tariffs Still a Small Piece of the Fiscal Puzzle

Despite the president’s enthusiastic framing, a closer look at the numbers paints a more complicated picture, as per the report.

Though tariffs brought in $27.7 billion last month, that sum accounted for less than 10% of total government receipts, which topped $338 billion in July, reported Yahoo Finance. The boost in tariff revenue also didn’t help reduce the growing budget deficit, which widened by $291 billion last month alone, according to the report. Over the past 10 months, the federal deficit has grown to $1.63 trillion, as per the Yahoo Finance report.

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Who’s Really Paying the Tariffs?

Economists have pointed out that contrary to Trump's claims, it’s not foreign governments footing the tariff bill, it’s US businesses and, increasingly, American consumers, according to the report.

Research from Goldman Sachs estimates that as of June, US companies absorbed about 64% of the costs from higher tariffs, while consumers paid about 22%, as reported by Yahoo Finance. But that is shifting, and by October, the investment bank forecasts that consumers could end up covering nearly 67% of tariff costs as businesses pass price hikes down to them, compared to only 8% for US businesses, reported Yahoo Finance. Goldman Sachs also predicted that foreign exporters' share would be around 25%, as per the report.

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US Tariff Rate Heading to Historic High

However, further tariff increases are on the horizon. Last week, the Trump administration implemented new hikes on imports from key trading partners, including the European Union, Japan, and South Korea, and in the coming weeks, tariffs on some Indian goods are set to climb to 50%, as reported by Yahoo Finance.

Analysts at the Yale Budget Lab estimate that once all of Trump’s planned measures are fully implemented, the US average effective tariff rate will soar to 18.6%, the highest level since 1933, according to the report.

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FAQs

Who actually pays for tariffs?
As per economists, mostly US businesses and consumers, not foreign governments, despite Trump’s claims.

How much of the federal revenue did tariffs make up in July?
Less than 10% of total government receipts, which stood at $338 billion.