MNI BRIEF: US Customs Revenue Doubles In April To $15.6B

The U.S. Treasury collected USD15.6 billion in net customs duties in April, nearly double the USD8.2 billion seen in March after new tariffs kicked in, the Treasury Department said Monday. Fiscal year-to-date, net customs duties totaled USD59.2 billion, up from USD44.1 billion in the year-ago period. 

There's about a one-month lag between tariff rate increases and higher collections. Tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China went into effect March 4 but were suspended two days later. A 25% tariff on steel and aluminum came into effect March 12. A 10% baseline tariff was applied to all imports on April 2 plus additional varying rates for individual countries, but the so-called reciprocal tariffs were paused a week later with the exception of taxes on Chinese imports of 145%. 

The federal government posted a surplus of USD258 billion in April, 23% higher than last April’s surplus of USD210 billion on an unadjusted basis and 26% higher on an adjusted basis. Receipts were up 10%, outpacing outlays which also increased 4% in the month, Treasury said.