Trump predicts ‘record-setting’ tariff surge as CBO slashes fiscal projections

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said that the US is on the brink of a “record-setting” surge in tariff revenue, arguing that the true impact of his trade agenda has not yet been reflected in official data.

In a lengthy post on Truth Social late Sunday night, November 23, the president claimed that global buyers had initially “stocked up” on goods to avoid paying higher duties but said that strategy was now fading.

Trump says tariff benefits have yet to fully register

“Despite the massive amount of money being made by the United States of America, hundreds of billions of dollars, as a direct result of tariffs being charged to other countries, the full benefit of the tariffs has not yet been calculated,” President Trump wrote.

According to Trump, importers bought unusually large inventories to dodge tariffs in the short term. “Many of the buyers of goods and products, in order to avoid paying the tariffs in the short term, ‘stock up’ by purchasing far more inventory than they can use,” he said.

But that behavior, he insisted, is now reversing. “That heavy inventory purchase is now, however, wearing thin, and soon tariffs will be paid on everything they apply to, without avoidance,” Trump said.

The president added that he expects the amounts payable to the US government to “skyrocket, over and above the already historic levels of dollars received.”

Trump claims anticipated payments would be ‘record setting’

The president said that the anticipated payments would be “record setting, and put our nation on a new and unprecedented course.”

Trump also cast the tariff policy as central to US power and national security. “We are already the ‘hottest’ country anywhere in the world, but this tariff power will bring America national security and wealth the likes of which has never been seen before,” he wrote.

He accused critics of aligning with adversarial interests. “Those opposing us are serving hostile foreign interests that are not aligned with the success, safety and prosperity of the USA. They couldn’t care less about us,” he said.

The president added that he was awaiting a forthcoming Supreme Court ruling on the policy. “I look so much forward to the United States Supreme Court’s decision on this urgent and time-sensitive matter so that we can continue, in an uninterrupted manner, to make America great again,” he wrote.

Trump claims that his tariff push will deliver economic gains

Trump’s remarks came just days after the Congressional Budget Office sharply revised its estimate of the long-term deficit reduction expected from the administration’s tariff increases.

The CBO stripped roughly $1 trillion from earlier projections and now expects higher customs duties to reduce federal deficits by about $2.5 trillion between 2025 and 2035.

Another $500 billion in savings is anticipated through lower interest payments triggered by those smaller deficits. Deficit reduction had been promoted as a core rationale for Trump’s tariff strategy.

Despite the downgrade, Trump maintained that his tariff push would ultimately deliver economic and security gains “the likes of which has never been seen before,” and insisted that critics were undermining US interests.

He reiterated that the administration is counting on the Supreme Court to allow the tariff plan to proceed “in an uninterrupted manner.”