Tariff revenue totaling $22.15 billion came into US coffers in March, yet another monthly decline after President Trump backtracked on some duties and the US Supreme Court struck down others as illegal.
The new figures from the Treasury Department’s monthly statement showed a notable downward tick from the $26.59 billion collected in February.
The reading is the fifth consecutive monthly decline and marks a nearly 30% drop from last October, when monthly tariff revenue peaked at $31.35 billion.
Friday’s release also showed that the US ran a budget deficit of $1.169 trillion between October and March — the first six months of the fiscal year.
These massive deficits, including $164 billion in March alone, also continued to far outstrip tariff revenues despite frequent claims from the president that his duties are balancing the budget.
All told, tariffs have brought in about $166 billion so far this fiscal year.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs
Friday’s release covered the first full month since the Supreme Court’s Feb. 20 decision striking down the tariffs imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Trump immediately moved to replace those tariffs by announcing 10% global duties for 150 days using a different authority: Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, is preparing a process for refunding those invalidated duties.
A court filing last week seemed to acknowledge that a wide array of duties will eventually be eligible for refunds in a process that could begin later this month.
The US government estimates that about $166 billion is at stake and could be refunded.
Some refunds appear to be moving, though the IEEPA refund process hasn’t yet begun.
Gross tariff receipts for the month were $24.02 billion, but about $1.86 billion in refunds were subtracted from the final result.
Refunds are a regular feature of monthly tariff revenues as duties are finalized. A similar amount in refunds was issued this past January, before the court’s ruling.
Read more: 5 ways to tariff-proof your finances
Tariff collections have been dropping since Trump backed away from a variety of duties — most notably on grocery store items — as fears of tariff-fueled price increases mounted.
Trump last week also adjusted tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper in changes that could lower duties on some goods “substantially made” of these metals, which will now face a 25% tariff.
