The US sent out $49.1 billion in tariff refunds in June as the checks to businesses accelerated in the second full month of payouts after the US Supreme Court invalidated President Trump’s blanket tariffs.
That figure handily beat the $23.6 billion in tariff revenue collected over the same period, according to the US Treasury Department’s monthly statement.
Monday’s newly released figures marked a sharp escalation from May’s results, which saw the tariff refund process get underway in earnest but with similar refund and revenue figures of around $21.9 billion seen on both sides of the ledger.
May’s net negative reading totaled $42 million — a rounding error in government finances. But June’s figures will be harder to discount, with a gap of about $25.5 billion and a tariff revenue picture that could be cloudy for months. A total of $166 billion in tariffs (plus interest) is potentially eligible for refunds for businesses.
The refunds are part of the response to the Supreme Court’s Feb. 20 decision striking down the wide-ranging tariffs Trump imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Refunds were subsequently ordered, and a government-run tariff refund portal opened in late April.
The Trump administration has been expanding the list of eligible tariff refund scenarios on the government portal this summer, meaning more businesses are set to be able to apply in the months ahead.
Trump has also cut into tariff revenues for months by creating exemptions in response to Americans feeling price pressure. Recent examples include a new exemption for Moroccan fertilizer and lower duties on farm equipment.
Monthly tariff revenue peaked at $31.35 billion last October and has mostly declined in the months since, although revenues ticked up in June by about $1.7 billion over May.
The Treasury Department’s monthly statement showed that the US ran an overall budget deficit of $1.4 trillion between October and June, the first nine months of the fiscal year, which the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget noted was bigger than the deficit for all of fiscal year 2025. The group says the US deficit is now set to top $2 trillion for the entire year.
These massive deficits, including $120 billion in June alone, have further undermined an early Trump promise that his tariffs would quickly balance the budget.
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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