US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported collecting over $500 million under the new round of reciprocal tariffs since April 5.
This figure sharply contrasts with President Donald Trump’s claim that the country is bringing in at least $2 billion per day through tariffs imposed under his administration.
The CBP’s data adds to more than $21 billion in revenue generated from 15 trade actions implemented since January 20, 2025. The update, issued on Monday, appears to counter the president’s repeated statements regarding daily tariff income.
System glitch fails to disrupt tariff revenue
The clarification from CBP followed a ten-hour technical glitch that briefly affected its finance system. The issue prevented US importers from entering a specific code that exempted in-transit goods from increased duties.
Despite the disruption, CBP confirmed that the average daily revenue of $250 million remained stable during the outage. The agency stated that the tariff collection process continued without interruption, even as importers experienced delays in processing exemptions.
The Treasury Department supported this by releasing data showing daily deposits under “Customs and Certain Excise Taxes” totaled $305 million. CBP collects all tariffs at the point of entry, making its data the most direct source for measuring actual revenue.
New tariffs and policy shifts in trade strategy
The Trump administration introduced new tariffs in early April, targeting dozens of countries. Initially, steep increases were announced across various sectors. Hours later, most of those tariffs were scaled back to a flat rate of 10%, except for those imposed on China, which remained elevated due to what the administration described as retaliatory behavior.
Automotive sector tariffs were left untouched, and new trade policies targeting the pharmaceutical sector are expected to follow soon. These changes reflect the administration’s broader push to reshape US trade relations.
China responds with countermeasures
China delivered a strong reaction to the most recent US tariff implementation. New Chinese import taxes span from 34% to 125% while applying a 90% levy to packages valued below $800 even though they used to be untaxed. China’s Commerce Ministry said it is ready to escalate the conflict if needed but hinted that the country would reconsider its position if the US agreed to cancel the tariffs and return to mutual respect in trade relations.