Trump signs 11 trade deals ahead of new tariff rollout

The U.S. government brought in $30 billion from tariffs in July, a new monthly record that pushes total tariff collections for 2025 past $152 billion.

That’s a 261% increase from March’s $8.2 billion, when President Donald Trump’s latest round of global trade duties began kicking in, according to Treasury Department data.

This revenue spike comes right before a fresh batch of tariff rate changes goes live on Thursday, August 7. They were originally scheduled to begin on August 1, but Trump’s team delayed them by a week to give the U.S. Customs and Border Protection more time to handle logistics. Since April, the monthly flow of tariff revenue has risen fast: $17.4 billion in April, $23.9 billion in May, then $28 billion in June, and now the biggest number yet.

Trump signs 11 trade deals ahead of new tariff rollout

Trump also signed new trade deals with major U.S. partners in the days before the updated tariffs take effect. Agreements were reached with Japan, the European Union, and South Korea, three of America’s top trade allies.

So far, 11 of the country’s 15 biggest trading partners have signed on to new trade arrangements under Trump’s leadership. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the White House expects total tariff revenue could top $300 billion.

That money comes from U.S. businesses, which pay duties on imports directly to the government. But those costs don’t stay there. Companies usually raise prices on everyday goods to make up the difference, meaning consumers pay the price in the end.

Meanwhile, consumer debt is piling up fast. New numbers from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit show that 3% of all U.S. consumer debt was at least 90 days late between April and June, the highest level since early 2020.

That’s up from 2.8% in the first quarter, and the jump was mainly driven by student loans, where 12.9% of debt went seriously delinquent, the worst in 21 years of tracking.

Consumer spending falls as delinquencies rise

Consumer spending has dropped during the first six months of 2025. That’s before the newest round of tariffs even hits. And now, with high interest rates still in place and job growth slowing, American households are feeling more pressure.

Joelle Scally, an economic policy adviser at the New York Fed, said in a press release, “This quarter’s flow of household debt into serious delinquency was mixed across debt types, with credit card and auto loans holding steady, student loans continuing to rise, and mortgages edging up slightly.”

Overall household debt rose by $185 billion in Q2, bringing the total to $18.4 trillion. That’s a 30% increase from pre-pandemic levels, while the nation’s GDP has grown 38% during the same period.

Even as Americans fall behind on payments, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that current delinquency levels “are not a problem.” He claimed that “essentially, you have a consumer that’s in good shape and is spending,” though “not at a rapid rate.”

But other recent data show cracks in that narrative. Middle- and upper-income households are starting to miss payments on credit cards and auto loans, a trend that could threaten an economy increasingly powered by high-income spending.

Mortgages, which make up the largest portion of household debt, are seeing a slight increase in late payments. But the biggest jump came from FHA loans, which usually go to first-time homebuyers and lower-income Americans. Delinquencies in that segment are rising faster than the rest.

Researchers at the New York Fed pointed to tighter lending rules after the Global Financial Crisis as the reason mortgage credit quality has stayed strong. But they warned that risks are rising again as the housing market slows down following the pandemic-era price surge.

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