Trump celebrates ‘billions of dollars’ flooding into US as higher tariff rates take effect

Donald Trump has boasted that ‘billions of dollars’ are flowing into the US as higher tariff rates take effect, with his treasury secretary predicting revenue could top $300 billion this year.

President Trump has boasted that “billions of dollars” were now flooding into the US after the higher tariff rates he slapped on dozens of trading partners officially went into effect.

“It’s midnight!!! Billions of dollars in tariffs are now flowing into the United States of America!” he declared on Truth Social after the clock ticked over.

In a separate post, Mr Trump said the cash flow from the sweeping reciprocal tariffs was coming largely from countries that have “taken advantage of the United States for many years, laughing all the way.”

“The only thing that can stop America’s greatness would be a radical left court that wants to see our country fail!” he added.

Mr Trump has previously touted the vast increase in federal revenues from his import tax collections, which are ultimately paid by companies importing the goods and consumers of end products.

“I think the growth is going to be unprecedented,” Mr Trump said.

He added that the US was “taking in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs” but couldn’t provide a specific figure because “we don’t even know what the final number is” regarding tariff rates.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has claimed US tariff revenues could top US$300 billion a year.

US President Donald Trump hands Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a model of a new version the B-2 stealth bomber as he speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 6, 2025 to announce Apple will invest an additional $100 billion in the United States, taking its total pledge to $600 billion over the next four years. Picture: AFP

US Customs and Border Protection started collecting the higher tariffs of 10 per cent to 50 per cent at 12:01 a.m. local time — after weeks of suspense over President Trump’s final rates and frantic negotiations with major trading partners seeking to lower them.

Imports from a slew of countries had previously been subject to a baseline 10 per cent import duty after the president halted higher rates that he’d announced in early April.

Since then, Mr Trump has frequently switched up his tariff plan and hit some countries with much higher rates — including Brazil (50 per cent), Switzerland (39 per cent), Canada (35 per cent) and India (25 per cent).

Eight major trading partners, which account for roughly 40 per cent of US trade flows, reached deals with the Trump administration to reduce their base tariff rates to 15 per cent after long negotiations — including the European Union, Japan and South Korea

The UK won a 10 per cent rate. Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines managed to lower their levies to 19 per cent or 20 per cent.

“For those countries, it’s less bad news,” said William Reinsch, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“There’ll be some supply chain rearrangement. There’ll be a new equilibrium. Prices here will go up, but it’ll take a while for that to show up in a major way.”

But he warned that those countries with surging duties, including India and Canada, would “continue to scramble around trying to fix this.”

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100 PER CENT TARIFF ON SEMICONDUCTORS

Donald Trump has announced plans for a 100 per cent tariff on “all chips and semiconductors” — insisting that there would be an orderly economic transition despite potential major impacts on US businesses.

“We’ll be putting a tariff, approximately 100 per cent, on chips and semiconductors,” President Trump said at an Oval Office event with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who arrived to announce plans for $US600 billion in new investments in the US, The New York Post reported.

From left, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Vice President JD Vance, pose for a photo after President Trump made an announcement about Apple, in the Oval Office. Picture: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Mr Trump said he would exempt companies that have plans to transition their manufacturing to the US — a hint that the world’s largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan’s TSMC, which is building massive manufacturing plants in Arizona, would be spared.

“If you’re building in the United States of America, there’s no charge, even though you’re building and you’re not producing yet in terms of the big numbers of jobs and all of the things that you’re building. If you’re building there will be no charge,” Mr Trump said.

“So 100 per cent tariff on all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States. But if you’ve made a commitment to build, or if you’re in the process of building, as many are, there is no tariff.”

Cook did not comment on the tariff plan when given an opportunity to address the press.

TRUMP DOUBLES TARIFFS ON INDIA

Donald Trump ordered an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods over New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil, a key revenue source for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The tariff, set to take effect in three weeks, comes on top of a separate 25 per cent duty entering into force on Thursday, according to the text of the executive order released by the White House.

Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on India over its ties with Russia. Picture: AP /Mark Schiefelbein

The order also threatens potential penalties on other countries deemed to be “directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.”
Exemptions remain for items targeted by separate sector-specific duties such as steel and aluminum, and categories that could be hit like pharmaceuticals.

President Trump has been ramping up pressure on India after signalling fresh sanctions on Moscow if it did not make progress by Friday towards a peace deal with Kyiv, as Russia’s devastating invasion of its pro-western neighbor drags on.

India’s national security adviser was in Moscow on Wednesday, media in New Delhi reported, coinciding with a visit by US envoy Steve Witkoff.

India’s foreign ministry earlier said US pressure to stop it buying Russian oil was “unjustified and unreasonable” and that it would protect its interests.

‘250 PER CENT’: TRUMP’S NEW TARIFF THREAT

Donald Trump has threatened to slap tariffs as high as 250 per cent on pharmaceutical imports in a major blow to Australian manufacturers.

Pharmaceuticals are one of Australia’s biggest exports to the United States and Mr Trump has previously announced a desire to bring drug manufacturing back to America where production has reduced in recent years.

In an interview on CNBC, Mr Trump announced he would unveil details of his plans for pharmaceutical tariffs within days.

While he had previously said tariffs could be 200 per cent, he said it was now likely to go even higher.

“We’ll be putting initially (a) small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year, one-and-a-half years maximum, it’s going to go to 150 per cent,” Mr Trump said.

“And then it’s going to go to 250 per cent because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country.”

Last week Mr Trump wrote to 17 Big Pharma companies demanding they reduce drug prices in the US in line with costs incurred by consumers in countries like Australia.

He has demanded drugmakers not offer other developed nations better prices than the United States.

“If you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect Americans from abusive drug pricing practices,” the President wrote in the letters.

- with The New York Post

Originally published as Trump celebrates ‘billions of dollars’ flooding into US as higher tariff rates take effect