The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) collected more than $150 million in duties on shipments from China and Hong Kong during the first eight days of the new 10% import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, which took effect at midnight, Washington D.C. time, on February 4. 

A spokesperson for the CBP said via an email to SupplyChainBrain February 27 that, from February 4, 2024 to February 12, 2025 at 14:25 PM, the total duty assessed on Chinese imports was over $150 million. No comparable figures for duties collected during a commensurate time before the new tariffs came into effect were immediately available.

The information came on the same day Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that China will face an additional 10% percent tariff, beginning in early March.

“CBP is committed to supporting the Trump administration’s executive orders related to tariffs while upholding U.S. trade laws and enforcing and facilitating legitimate trade,” the CBP statement said. “The dynamic nature of our mission, along with evolving threats and challenges, requires CBP to remain flexible and adapt quickly while ensuring seamless operations and mission resilience. These tariffs will help maintain America’s global competitiveness and protect American industries from unfair trade practices.”

The CBP said a Federal Register notice will provide detailed information on relevant Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) headings, goods affected and exempted, and further specifics on tariff implementation. 

Additionally, CBP will issue Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) notices with updates on Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) filings and related technical information. The public can review these notices at https://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/cargo-systems-messaging-service.

Flow Into U.S. Coffers Likely to Slow, While Prices Rise

Importers have been paying duties on Chinese imports, at varying levels, since the 19th century, as well as during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations. But rates increased sharply during the first Trump administration; rates that ensuing President Joe Biden kept and even enhanced. However, although tariff revenue from Chinese imports grew following the implementation of those first-term Trump tariffs, its share of total U.S. tariff revenue declined as trade shifted to other countries, according to Asher Rose, an analyst with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization. 

“Even at its peak in 2022, revenue from tariffs on China represented just 1.2% of total U.S. tax revenue,” said Rose in an article September 11, 2024. “Consumers and businesses adjust their purchasing behavior in response to higher tariffs, often substituting taxed goods with alternatives. This behavior reduces the effectiveness of tariffs both as a deterrent to imports and as a significant source of revenue.”

Many experts agree that among the most likely consequences of tariffs meant to equalize trade deficits or boosts domestic manufacturing are higher prices for consumers. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy nonprofit, said in an article February 13 that academic and governmental studies find the Trump-Biden tariffs have raised prices and reduced output and employment, producing a net negative impact on the U.S. economy. 

“Trump is driving the U.S. economy straight into a wall and expecting American families to serve as human crash test dummies,” Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat of Oregon and the ranking member of the Senate finance committee, said in a February 27 statement.