- US Treasury Secretary said $2,000 tariff dividends could come as tax cuts and other fiscal measures
- Scott Bessent stated tariffs aim to rebalance trade and could generate trillions over several years
- Earlier, Trump defended tariffs, claiming they made the US richest and most respected globally
The Donald Trump administration in the United States has addressed confusion surrounding the proposed $2,000 (approx. Rs 1,77,000) tariff dividend that the President announced in his recent social media post. According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the tariff dividends can be distributed to Americans, except for high-income people, in various forms, including tax cuts and other fiscal measures.
Speaking to ABC News, Bessent said that he had not discussed tariff dividends with Trump but listed out a few areas where the monetary benefits could likely come from.
Also Read: "People Against Tariff Fools": Trump Pledges $2,000 "Dividends" To Americans
How Tariff Dividends Will Be Distributed
“The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways. 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 on auto loans," he said.
Trump on Sunday defended his tariff policy, claiming the aggressive levies made the United States the "richest" and "most respected" country in the world. Dubbing his opponents as "fools", the President claimed every American -- except the wealthy -- will soon receive at least $2,000 from tariff revenues collected by his administration.
Asked about Trump's remarks, Bessent expanded the argument and said, "Over the course of the next few years, we could take in trillions of dollars."
“But the real goal of tariffs is to rebalance trade and make it more fair.”
Criticism Of Trump Tariffs
President Trump has been stepping up the defence of his tariff regime ever since the US Supreme Court last week raised doubts over the legality of the measure, raising the possibility that many of the levies could be overturned, forcing more than $100 billion in refunds and taking away a centrepiece of his second term.
Trump has said that if the top US court ruled against him, it would be a "disaster".
Part of the case involves the Trump administration's April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs, which impose taxes of between 10 per cent and 50 per cent on most US imports depending on the originating country. According to Trump, those duties are warranted to address the longstanding national trade deficit.
