US expects US$50 billion a month in tariff revenues: Commerce chief Lutnick
[WASHINGTON] US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday (Aug 7) he expects the country to collect US$50 billion a month in tariff revenues or more – up from US$30 billion last month – as higher levies on imports from dozens of countries kick in.
“And then you’re going to get the semiconductors, you’re going to get pharmaceuticals, you’re going to get all sorts of additional tariff money coming in,” Lutnick said in an interview with Fox Business Network.
US President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries took effect on Thursday, raising the average US import duty to its highest in a century, with countries facing tariffs of 10 to 50 per cent.
Trump on Wednesday also announced plans to levy a tariff of about 100 per cent on imported semiconductor chips unless manufacturers commit to produce in America, as well as a small tariff on pharmaceutical imports that would rise to 250 per cent over time.
Details of those sectoral tariffs are expected in coming weeks after the Commerce Department completes investigations into the impact of those imports on US national security.
Lutnick told Fox Business Network that companies could win exemptions from the expected semiconductor tariff if they filed plans to build plants in the US, and those plans were overseen by an auditor.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
“His objective is to get semiconductor manufacturing done here,” he said, predicting that the initiative would result in some US$1 trillion in investment to bolster domestic manufacturing.
Other exemptions have already been agreed, including with the European Union, which said its agreement to accept a 15 per cent tariff on most EU exports includes chips, and with Japan, which has said the US agreed not to give it a worse rate than other countries.
The push to boost domestic chip manufacturing is not new.
SEE ALSO
Congress created a US$52.7 billion semiconductor manufacturing and research subsidy programme in 2022 under former President Joe Biden, and all five leading-edge semiconductor firms agreed last year to locate chip factories in the US.
Last year the department said the US produced about 12 per cent of semiconductor chips globally, down from 40 per cent in 1990.
Lutnick, asked about separate talks underway with China on extending a tariff truce that is due to end on Aug 12, said he felt an agreement was possible.
“I think we’re going to leave that to the trade team and to the president to make those decisions, but it feels likely that they’re going to come to an agreement and extend that for another 90 days, but I’ll leave it to that team.” REUTERS
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
