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.
- But trade-related expenses have also increased, including roughly $28 billion in farm aid in 2019.
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."
Go deeper:
