News Desk. America’s economic picture has seen an interesting change in recent months. Reciprocal tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on many countries are now clearly visible in the government treasury figures. A sharp rise in import duty earnings has helped reduce the budget deficit to some extent.
Budget deficit reduced
According to January data, the US budget deficit decreased by almost a quarter compared to last year to $95 billion. At the same time, the total deficit in the four months starting from the beginning of financial year 2026 (October to January) was recorded at $ 697 billion, which is 17 percent less than the same period last year. Although it is still at historically high levels, the declining trend is a matter of relief for the government.
big command of tariff
Government revenues overall increased by 12 percent to $1.8 trillion. The fastest growth was seen in earnings from import duties, which increased more than three times to $ 124 billion in four months. This shows that changes in trade policy have had a direct impact on government income.
strong base from tax
Although tariffs are under discussion, the largest share of government income still comes from personal income taxes. During this period, $924 billion was collected from income tax. $579 billion were received from Social Security and Retirement Funds, $112 billion from corporate taxes and $31 billion from excise duties. That means traditional tax sources still remain the backbone of revenue.
expenses are also not less
Government spending, on the other hand, reached $2.5 trillion, slightly higher than last year. The highest expenditure was on social programs like Social Security and Medicare. Interest payments, defense budget, health services and income support schemes also took up huge sums. It is clear from this that despite the increase in revenue, the pressure of expenditure continues.
challenge ahead
America certainly sees immediate benefits from the tariff, but questions remain about its impact in the long run. Due to expensive imports, prices may increase in the domestic market and global trade relations may also be affected. What is certain for now is that the strict trade policy has given short-term strength to the US treasury. Now it remains to be seen whether this trend remains stable in the coming months or the economic equations change again.
Comments are closed.