Monthly revenue collected by the United States through import duties fell for the first time since tariffs were imposed earlier this year, which could mean U.S. revenue under the current tariff regime peaked in October, according to data released by the

U.S. Treasury department this week. Since Donald Trump imposed his global “Liberation Day” tariffs in April, revenue from custom duties have been on an upward trend, with a cumulative US$236.15 billion collected from January through to November. This is up from US$72.1 billion of reported revenue brought in by custom duties during the same period in 2024.

However, November marked the first time revenue was lower than the previous month, with the U.S. treasury raking in US$30.76 billion, down from US$31.35 billion in October.

Effective Nov. 13, Trump announced a rollback of tariffs on a dozen food products, including coffee, beef, tomatoes and bananas. The move was in response to growing frustration by U.S. consumers over rising grocery prices and the cost of living.

The U.S. inflation rate stood at three per cent in September, the most recent available data due to the U.S. government shutdown.

Currently, U.S. tariffs remain in place on imports from numerous countries and consequences of Trump’s trade war are starting to show up in economic data.

Tariffs have cost the average American household US$1,200 since Trump took office, according to calculations by Democratic lawmakers on the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the current overshoot on inflation is due to the U.S. administration’s import taxes, but he expects inflation to ease in the back half of 2026. The Fed cut rates to the 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent range, amid a worsening jobs picture in the American labour market.

This week, Trump announced a US$12-billion aid package for American farmers, to deal with the fallout from China’s boycott on U.S. soybeans that began int the spring in response to U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

China resumed purchases this fall but has fallen short of the amount set under the U.S.-China agreement on trade.

Still, the tariff revenue is helping bring down the U.S. government deficit, which was US$173 billion last month, down from US$367 billion the same month last year.

Canada is currently exempted from the full effect of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, but 50 per cent sectoral tariffs remain in place on Canadian steel and aluminum and 25 per-cent tariffs on non-U.S. content in Canadian autos.

In a move that would further hurt U.S. farmers this week, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian fertilizer products, which would disproportionately impact Saskatchewan, a world-leading exporter of potash.

Soon Trump will face midterm elections and a possible ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the lawfulness of those tariffs applied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

A review of the Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is also set to take place next year, with USTR hearings already underway. The overall consensus from American business leaders and industry groups is that they want to keep the North American trade deal intact.

Trump’s point man on trade, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, has floated the idea of breaking up the agreement and negotiating two separate trade deals with Mexico and Canada.

The U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told the National Post he does not believe the administration wants to terminate CUSMA and Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back on the idea on Thursday.

  • Canada’s productivity rebounds in the third quarter, previous years revised up
  • William Watson: Does America First really favour Canada First, too?