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The US leader has floated the idea of paying a “tariff dividend” to almost all Americans from revenue collected by his administration from the tariffs applied on leading global economies, in an effort to bolster public support amid uncertainty over whether the Supreme Court will limit his use of tariffs.
On Sunday, Trump wrote on social media: “People that are against Tariffs are fools!,” adding that the country is “taking in trillions of dollars and will soon begin paying down our enormous debt, $37 trillion.”
He also suggested that “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone.” The amount is equal to about €1,729.
The administration has yet to provide further clarification on how the payments would be distributed.
Following Trump’s post, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated in an interview on ABC News’ This Week that the administration was considering tax cuts, but also said he had not spoken to Trump about the proposed dividend.
“The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways,” Bessent said, suggesting possibilities such as eliminating taxes on tips, overtime, Social Security or even instituting an auto loan interest deductible.
With roughly 340 million citizens in the US, and around 19% of them living in upper-income households according to the Pew Research Center, approximately four-fifths of Americans could qualify for the proposed dividend.
The scheme would cost the federal budget, which has yet to be signed into law, hundreds of billions of dollars in 2026.
The US Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget reported that customs duties collected in the 2025 fiscal year were about $195 billion or (€168,63bn), representing an increase of US$118 billion (€102bn), up by approximately 150% from the previous year.
The US budget is further strained by the cost of servicing the national debt, which stands at more than 122% of GDP, or $37.64 trillion (€32.5tr).
Trump’s announcement comes after a turbulent week for his tariff plans. Last week, the Supreme Court signalled doubts over his authority to impose reciprocal tariffs under emergency powers, following earlier rulings from lower courts that he had exceeded his authority.
Trump has said that overturning the tariffs would be a “disaster” for the country, noting that much of the revenue would be used to reduce the national debt.
Tariffs have become a central pillar of Trump’s foreign policy in his second term, with double-digit reciprocal tariffs imposed on most countries. He has justified the measures by declaring America’s longstanding trade deficits a national emergency.