(The Hill) — President Trump said Sunday that each American will receive at least $2,000 from tariff revenue collected by the administration.
“A dividend of at $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” the president said on his Truth Social platform. He added that those against the tariffs are “FOOLS!”
Such a proposal would likely need to be passed by Congress. This summer, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) introduced legislation to give $600 tariff rebates to nearly all Americans and their dependent children.
“My legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump’s tariffs are returning to this country,” Hawley said at the time.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, though, told CNBC in August that the administration’s priority is paying down the $38.12 trillion national debt using the tariff revenue.
On Sunday, Trump also said that the administration would pay down the “ENORMOUS” debt using tariff revenue.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for clarification on the president’s plan.
Through the first three quarters of this year, the Treasury Department collected $195 billion from tariff duties, according to its September statement.
But as of Oct. 17, consumers are facing an average effective tariff rate of 18 percent, the highest since 1934, according to the Yale Budget Lab. After the president imposed sweeping tariffs on trading partners around the world in April, firms have passed on some tariff costs to customers.
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