President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted that prices on Chinese goods were not going up in the U.S. despite his tariffs, saying that “the tens of billions of dollars that the U.S. is receiving is a gift from China.”
Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning: "Through massive devaluation of their currency and pumping vast sums of money into their system, the tens of billions of dollars that the U.S. is receiving is a gift from China. Prices not up, no inflation. Farmers getting more than China would be spending. Fake News won’t report!"
The current administration already has imposed 25 percent tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, which are paid for by the company that imports the goods, and expects to add an additional 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods in September.The U.S. Treasury reported at the end of June that the government has collected $63 billion from tariffs over the last 12 months.
However, according to the Wall Street Journal, “for every dollar brought in by the new tariffs, a dollar has been authorized to fund rescue programs for farmers who have been harmed by retaliation from China and other countries. The U.S. authorized $12 billion in farm rescue funds in 2018 and an additional $16 billion this year, for a total of $28 billion.”
The Journal also notes that the U.S. already collected about $30 billion per year from pre-existing tariffs on goods made in various countries, including China. The new tariffs have brought in about $27 billion, about as much as has been paid in rescue funds to farmers.