Nov 6, 2019 - Economy

WSJ: Tariff revenue spiked to a record $7 billion in September

A truck passes by China Shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles.

A truck passes by China shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles. Photo: Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. amassed $7 billion in import tariffs in September, a 9% jump from figures in August and a 59% year-over-year increase due to new taxes on consumer goods, figures compiled by the Commerce Department show, per the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: President Trump has falsely said China is paying for the tariffs. Business executives and economists generally recognize the revenue as a growing burden on American importers and U.S. customers.

Why now: The revenue increase can be attributed to a 15% levy on about $110 billion worth of Chinese imports that took affect on Sept. 1.

  • More than $5 billion of the total collected last month came from tariffs collected on imports from China, while tariffs assessed to the rest of the world reaped another $2 billion, the WSJ notes.

By the numbers: In a 12-month period ending in September, the U.S. accrued more than $70 billion in tariffs, almost double what was collected before the trade war, according to the WSJ.

What they're saying: Dan Anthony, vice president of the Trade Partnership, told the WSJ, “This is very much the low-end estimate of costs, because there’s also costs associated with shifting suppliers, shifting to higher-cost sources, that aren’t going to show up in the data."

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