Trump is bringing in so much revenue from tariffs that it’s seriously reducing the $37 trillion national debt
By Nick Lichtenberg
By Nick LichtenbergFortune Intelligence EditorNick LichtenbergFortune Intelligence Editor
Nick Lichtenberg is Fortune Intelligence editor and was formerly Fortune‘s executive editor of global news.
Since his return to the White House, Donald Trump has unleashed a wave of “reciprocal tariffs” on almost every major U.S. trading partner.Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs are raking in unprecedented sums for the federal government—so much, in fact, that a top budget watchdog says the revenue rivals the impact of creating a brand-new payroll tax or slashing the entire military budget by nearly one-fifth. (These are rough estimates, to be sure, conveyed to communicate the magnitude of the tariffs, not precise contributions to the budget.) But can these massive cash flows, already topping tens of billions monthly, truly put a dent in America’s $37 trillion national debt?
Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500
, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world. Explore this year’s list.
