In July, the US tariff revenue soared to $28 billion, but it was unable to prevent the monthly deficit from approaching $300 billion.

In July, the United States set a new record for monthly tariff revenue, but this increase did not prevent the monthly budget deficit from expanding, highlighting the ongoing fiscal challenges faced by the federal government. Data released by the U.S. Treasury on Tuesday showed that tariff revenue soared to $28 billion last month, a 273% increase from July of last year. Meanwhile, after adjusting for calendar differences, the July monthly budget deficit reached $291 billion, a 10% increase from the same period last year. As the current fiscal year (ending in September) nears its end, the United States is heading towards another huge deficit. Treasury officials informed reporters in a conference call that the deficit for the first ten months of this fiscal year (ending in July) was $1.63 trillion. After adjusting for calendar differences and excluding the impact of deferred tax payments received in 2024, this figure narrowed by 4% compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. Tariff revenue has reached $142 billion so far this fiscal year. In June of this year, a significant increase in tariff revenue helped the U.S. government achieve a rare monthly surplus ($27 billion), the first June surplus since 2015. Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said that annual tariff revenue is expected to reach $300 billion by 2025. "I have been saying for some time that we could reach $300 billion, but now it looks like we may need to significantly increase that expectation," Besent said on Fox Business Channel on Tuesday. He pointed out that tariff revenue may "far exceed 1% of GDP." However, most economists and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) believe that the landmark tax and spending bill signed by President Donald Trump last month will exacerbate the United States' fiscal deficit in the next decade. Compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in interest costs on public debt, as well as rising expenditures on Medicare and Social Security, remain the main drivers of the expanding deficit.