- The US government has continued to collect tens of billions in tariffs despite an agreement to defuse a tit-for-tat trade dispute between the US and China.
- Additional tariff revenue increased by $46 billion from the start of the trade war in February 2018 through November 2019, according to new data.
- A National Bureau of Economic Research paper released this week said that "approximately 100 percent" of tariffs have been paid by American buyers.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage here.
The US government has continued to collect tens of billions in tariffs, according to new data, despite an agreement to defuse a tit-for-tat trade dispute between the US and China that was announced this fall.
Additional tariff revenue increased by $46 billion from the start of the trade war in February 2018 through November 2019, the free-trade advocacy groups Tariffs Hurt the Heartland and The Trade Partnership said Thursday.
President Donald Trump announced in October a phase-one deal with China, which lowered tariffs on $120 billion worth of products but kept them in place for the vast majority of targeted products. He said it included commitments from China on agricultural purchases and intellectual property rules, some of the issues the Trump administration cited as it first slapped punitive tariffs on the second-largest economy.
"With over 80 percent of the tariffs still in place, the cost to American farmers, businesses and consumers will continue to grow," said Brian Kuehl, the co-executive director of Farmers for Free Trade. "Rather than kicking the can down the road, the Trump administration and China need to quickly reach a full resolution of remaining issues so that all tariffs can be lifted."
In November alone, the Treasury Department collected $6.2 billion from import taxes. That was more than twice the amount seen during the same period in 2017 and compared with the record $7.2 billion in tariff revenue a month earlier.
Trump falsely asserts that China and other foreign exporters pay for tariffs, but evidence overwhelmingly shows that the costs of protectionism fall onto domestic consumers and businesses. A National Bureau of Economic Research paper released this week said that "approximately 100 percent" of tariffs have been paid by American buyers.
In its latest budget statement, the Treasury Department said the government collected roughly $6.9 billion in customs duties in November. Dan Anthony, vice president of The Trade Partnership, said tariff estimates could vary because they are recorded by multiple departments and subject to revisions.
"The groups use 'Census' calculated duties data because they are the only publicly available figures that contain the necessary product and country details for analyzing sector trends, state breakdowns, etc.," Anthony said.