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Donald Trump is considering paying Americans a dividend of up to $2,000 from the revenue the U.S. has taken in from tariffs.
In an interview with One America News Network (OANN), Trump claimed that while tariff revenue is just starting to come in, “ultimately, your tariffs are going to be over a trillion dollars a year.”
It comes as a Supreme Court case is expected to decide next month whether Trump has the legal authority to impose some of the sweeping tariffs he enforced in April.
- Donald Trump is considering paying Americans a dividend of $1,000 to $2,000 using tariff revenue collected by the U.S. government.
- U.S. tariff revenue could reach over $1 trillion annually, with $214.9 billion collected in 2025 so far, reports Fox Business.
- The Supreme Court will soon decide on Trump's legal authority to impose sweeping tariffs following lower court rulings.
Donald Trump is considering paying Americans a tariff dividend
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled earlier this year that most of Trump’s tariffs were illegal and an overreach of his use of emergency powers as president.
That decision has been stayed pending the outcome of the Supreme Court review.
“Number one, we’re paying down debt,” Trump told OANN, “because people have allowed the debt to go crazy.”
The U.S. debt is $37 trillion, but Trump claimed it was “very little, relatively speaking” due to how much the country is raking in from tariffs.
Fox Business reported that the government collected $31.3 billion in tariff revenue in September, citing data from the Treasury Department.
President Trump tells me he’s considering rebate checks of $1,000-$2,000 from tariff revenue.
TRUMP: “We’ll pay back debt. But we also might make a distribution to the people, almost like a dividend to the people of America.”
Tune into @OANN at 11pm ET to watch! pic.twitter.com/VECOrgQxoA
— Daniel Baldwin (@baldwin_daniel_) October 3, 2025
That figure was down $73 million from the collections in August, meaning there was a combined collection of $214.9 billion in 2025, according to Fox Business.
Trump told OANN that he is considering paying some of that cash to American citizens.
“We’ll pay back debt, but we also might make a distribution to the people,” Trump said, describing the plan as “a dividend to the people of America.”
“We’re thinking maybe $1,000 to $2,000 – it would be great.”
Congress would be required to approve any distribution of money from the government to citizens.
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Republican Senator Josh Hawley in July introduced legislation that would send rebate checks to working Americans following the historic revenue accrued through tariffs.
The American Worker Rebate Act would give at least $600 per adult and dependent child, with a family of four receiving $2,400.
It would work under similar parameters to the three rounds of stimulus checks passed by Congress in 2020 to help struggling Americans during the COVID pandemic.
Hawley announced the legislation after Trump voiced support for this policy when he was discussing tariff revenue.
Hawley introduced legislation earlier this year
Image credits: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
‘We’re thinking about a little rebate but the big thing we want to do is pay down debt. But we’re thinking about a rebate,” Trump said at the time.
Hawley’s bill has not yet been passed by Congress.
“Americans deserve a tax rebate after four years of Biden policies that have devastated families’ savings and livelihoods. Like President Trump proposed, my legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump’s tariffs are returning to this country,” Hawley said in a statement.
Trump has imposed a 10% baseline tariff, which applies to most imports from countries that don’t have special deals with the U.S.
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Last week, he also announced steep new tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, trucks and furniture.
A 100% tariff will affect all pharmaceutical companies that are importing drugs to the U.S. but are not building a manufacturing plant in America.
There will also be a 50% tariff on all kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and associated products, as well as a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture, and a 25% tariff on heavy trucks made outside of the U.S.
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