ZCZC
BCN-19
US-CHINA-TRADE-BUDGET-TARIFFS
Trump tariffs bring in additional $9 bn in first quarter
WASHINGTON, Feb 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The steep trade tariffs President
Donald Trump imposed last year brought an additional $9 billion into the
government’s coffers from October to December but the deficit was still 42
percent higher than the prior year, the US Treasury reported Wednesday.
Trump has repeatedly touted the tariffs imposed last year, notably on $250
billion in annual imports from China, as a windfall for the US government,
paid by Chinese firms, when in fact they are paid by American companies.
China now is “paying billions of dollars a month for the privilege of
coming into the United States,” Trump said Tuesday.
Total customs duties collected rose to $18 billion compared to the same
period of 2017, while December amount doubled to $6 billion, according to the
monthly budget statement.
Trump also imposed steep punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, as
well as other goods like solar panels and washing machines, in a bid to
protect US industry, which drew retaliation from American trading partners.
But despite the increase in duties collected, the US fiscal deficit in the
first quarter of the 2019 fiscal year, which began October 1, widened by $94
billion to $319 billion due to an increase in spending of nearly $100
billion, the report showed.
The increased outlays included big jumps for Medicare, Social Security,
defense spending and an $18 billion increase in interest on the public debt –
– which this month hit a record $22 trillion.
For the fiscal year ended through September 2018, the deficit was $779
billion, a 17 percent increase over the prior year, but this year it is
expected to rise to $900 billion, according to an estimate from the
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
BSS/AFP/HR/1125