United States President Donald Trump has announced a plan to distribute a $2k payout for Americans from tariff revenue generated from his administration’s import tariffs.
Trump announced the $2k payout for Americans via his Truth Social platform.
According to him, the development is an outcome of his administration’s trade policy, which he said has brought more revenue for the U.S.
The President argued that the massive influx of tariff revenue is not only driving “Record Investment in the USA” but will also be used to begin paying down the “ENORMOUS DEBT.”
Trump specified that the $2k payout to Americans would be paid to “everyone,” but explicitly excluded “high-income people,” though he did not immediately define the exact income threshold for eligibility.
“A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to revenue,” Mr. Trump posted on social media.
The president added that people who oppose tariffs are “fools.”
“We are now the richest, most respected country in the world with almost no inflation and a record stock market price. 401 (k) s are at their highest ever. We are taking in trillions of dollars and will soon begin paying down our enormous debt, $37 trillion. Record investment in the USA, plants and factories going up all over the place,” he posted.
Trump also criticized the Supreme Court, which appeared skeptical of his tariff plan during oral arguments last week. The justices are currently considering whether the president has the authority to overhaul trade and tax imports without the consent of Congress.
“So let’s get this straight? The president of the United States is allowed (and fully approved by Congress) to stop all trade with a foreign country (which is far more onerous than a tariff) and license a foreign country, but it is not allowed to put a simple tariff on a foreign country, even for national security,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social.
“That is not what our great founders had in mind. The whole thing is ridiculous! Other countries can tariff us, but we can’t tariff them? It is their dream. Businesses are pouring into the USA only because of tariffs. Has the United States Supreme Court not been told this? What the hell is going on?” he posted.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that the $2,000 tariff dividend could be delivered through various means, including tax reductions, rather than a single check.
Bessent said that it “could come in lots of forms.” Adding, “It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda: no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans,” he said. “So those are substantial deductions that are being financed in the tax bill.”
Recall that Trump recently announced the imposition of “reciprocal” tariffs, which range from 10% on most global imports to 50% on specific countries like India and Brazil, as well as tariffs imposed on Canada, Mexico, and China in response to issues like fentanyl trafficking and trade deficits.
For Nigeria, Trump imposed a 15% tariff on goods coming into the U.S.
