Trump's 'Dividend' Promise For Americans Leaves Open Questions
But the eyebrow-raising suggestion from a leader with a flair for creating headlines is largely opaque -- with key questions left open about how the giveaway would be funded.
Trump himself has acknowledged the difficulty in splashing cash at a time when the United States faces crushing debt.
"We have so much money coming in, we are thinking about a little rebate," Trump said last month, "but the big thing we want to do is pay down debt."
He has since referred to the so-called rebate as a "dividend," and said it could be for "people that would be middle income people and lower income people."
His idea has, naturally, roused interest.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduced a bill in July that would see $600 checks sent to each adult and dependent child in American families.
Trump has a track record in dishing out money -- or at least taking the credit for it.
During the Covid pandemic, he insisted that his name be put on government checks distributed to tens of millions of Americans as financial support.
Trump's latest plan raises a key question: How will it be financed?
The United States faces a national deficit that worsened from October to June compared to the same period a year earlier.
That was despite a rise in revenue generated by tariffs that Trump has slapped on dozens of US trading partners.
Handing out cash to Americans would add to the deficit and increase the country's debt, which was at more than $36.8 trillion by early August.
Trump, when explaining his dividend idea, has claimed the United States is raking in trillions of dollars from other countries thanks to his protectionist agenda.
The Republican has also cited large investments promised by Japan and the European Union -- deals that coincided with agreements on US tariffs.
But foreign leaders paint a different picture.
Japan, for example, has stated that its $550 billion pledge will largely be in the form of loans and guarantees -- certainly not just hard cash.
And Trump's claims about the revenue generated by tariffs can also be misleading.
The president claims -- wrongly -- that tariffs are paid by foreign countries to the US government.
Yet, in reality, it is importers in the United States that are on the hook.
Most economists note that American consumers therefore end up paying more as businesses, facing rising costs, raise prices on their products.
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President Donald Trump said the US could levy additional tariffs on China in line with 25% increase he announced for India earlier in the day over its purchase of Russian oil. "Could happen," Trump told reporters without providing details on potential tariffs. "It may happen ... I can't tell you yet," Trump said. "We did it with India. We're doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China." Last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China could also face new tariffs if it continued buying Russian oil. As trade talks continue with Beijing, Trump has placed 30% tariffs on goods from China, a rate that is smaller than the combined import taxes with which he has threatened New Delhi. US President Donald Trump has announced he plans to impose a 100% tariff on semiconductors, a move that would increase the costs of electronic devices. "We're going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors," he told reporters at the White House, adding that the level would be "100%." Trump added that the import tax would not be levied on companies that manufacture computer chips in the United States. The announcement came as US technology giant Apple said it would add another $100 billion (about €85.8 billion) to the $500 billion it already planned to invest in the US, which Trump celebrated as the company "coming home." Brazil has taken the first step in a dispute settlement system within the World Trade Organization (WTO) over US President Trump's hefty tariffs on the country. In its request on Wednesday, Brazil said the US "flagrantly violates core commitments made to the WTO" by imposing the tariffs. "The Brazilian government reiterates its willingness to negotiate and hopes that the consultations will contribute to a solution to the issue," it added. The dispute settlement system has been stalled since Trump's first term in office. The US president slapped Latin America's biggest economy a hefty 50% tariff on over a third of Brazilian exports to the US. Far from economic reasons, the massive tariff rate comes in response to what Trump has called a "witch hunt" against his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro. The former Brazilian president is on trial on charges of plotting a coup following his 2022 election loss. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Donald Trump is tightening sanctions loopholes that fund Moscow's war machine. What does a crackdown on Russia's oil trade mean for global markets — and economic heavyweights like China and India? DW has some of the answers here. US President Donald Trump's pressure on India to halt its oil imports from Russia and comply with sanctions on Iran has strained ties between Washington and New Delhi, who have enjoyed a healthy strategic partnership for decades. India has already said it saw the tariffs are "unjustified and unreasonable" and that it would take "all necessary measures" to safeguard its "national interests and economic security." Trump has claimed Indian authorities "don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine" and are helping fund Russia's war effort in Ukraine through their purchases of Russian oil. The tougher rhetoric is a marked shift in relations between India and the US. Ties have deteriorated in recent months, despite the display of personal warmth and symbolic friendship when Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with President Trump earlier this year in Washington. Experts believes that despite Trump's "intimidatory" approach, India "does not seek a confrontation." Read the full story on the tense relations between the US and India over Trump's tariffs. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter said she had a "very good meeting" with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, discussing the incoming US tariffs on Switzerland. In the meeting, the pair "discussed bilateral cooperation between Switzerland and the US, and the tariff situation, and international issues," Karin-Sutter said. "We had a very friendly and open exchange," Keller-Sutter told reporters after the meeting in Washington, yet stopped short of mentioning whether it would help the country avert the 39% tariff set to come into effect on Thursday. A US State Department spokeswoman said the talks included "the importance of a fair and balanced trade relationship that benefits the American people." On July 31 last week, Trump announced a new set of "reciprocal tariffs," affecting some 67 countries. The levies, due to kick in on August 7, include a 10% so-called baseline tariff on countries where the US sells more products than it imports. The US president argued in a White House statement that "conditions reflected in large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the US that has its source in whole or substantial part outside the US." Leading trading partners including the European Union, Japan and South Korea will be subject to a 15% tariff. All are engaged in trade negotiations with Washington. Countries which meanwhile reached tentative trade agreements with the US, such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, will be subject to tariffs ranging from 19% to 20%. Much higher rates will fall on smaller economies such as Syria (41%, the highest on the list), which is just getting out of a civil war which spanned over a decade. Myanmar (40%), is still grappling with a civil war. Similar rates will also be applied to Laos (40%) and Iraq (35%). Despite being a significant trading partner, Switzerland is set to face a whopping 39% tariff. The latest tariff announcement means India is facing the highest US levy along with Brazil. This could put New Delhi at a significant disadvantage, particularly against regional competitors such as Vietnam and Bangladesh. The move could also shatter India's image as an alternative for US companies to Chinese manufacturing. Trump had already criticized tech giant Apple for its efforts to shift iPhone production to India to avoid the tariffs that had been planned for China. "I don't want you building in India," Trump said he told Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier this year. However, smartphones are on a list of exempted products for now, shielding Apple from a major hit, even as it moves production from China to India. On Wednesday, Trump is expected to celebrate a commitment by Apple to increase its US investments by an additional $100 billion over the next four years. Other exemptions include goods targeted under sector-specific tariffs such as steel and aluminum, and sectors that could be hit later, such as pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. India's government spokesperson has defended New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil, saying that "imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India." "It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest," the spokesperson said in a statement. "We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable. India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video US President Donald Trump promised in his inaugural address this year to "tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens." By setting new tariff rates, Trump aimed at reducing the country's trade deficit, which is when the US imports more from a country than it exports to that country, and first announced plans for a "reciprocal" tariff on February 13. But experts have warned that tariffs could cause chaos for global markets and disrupt the US economy at home. April 2: Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" when he announces long-promised "reciprocal" tariffs, declaring a 10% baseline tax on imports across the board starting April 5, as well as higher rates for dozens of countries that have a high trade deficit with the US. The calculations for the tariff rates cause widespread confusion. April 5: Trump's 10% minimum tariff on nearly all countries and territories takes effect. April 9: Trump's higher "reciprocal" rate goes into effect, but his administration says just hours later it is pausing higher rates while maintaining the 10% levy on most global imports. April 10: EU suspends its steel and aluminium tariff retaliation measures for 90 days — those measures were a response to Trump's 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminium that took effect in March. May 23: Trump threatens a 50% tax on all imports from the EU as well as a 25% tariff on smartphones unless those products are made in America. Trump says frustrated by lack of progress in talks with EU, writing on Truth Social: "Our discussions with them are going nowhere!" May 26: Trump says the US will delay implementation of a 50% tariff on goods from the EU from June 1 until July 9 to buy time for negotiations with the bloc. July 7: Trump signs an executive order to push the deadline for higher tariffs to August 1 and sends his first letters telling 14 countries' leaders that their exports to the US would face a new tariff rate. July 8: Trump says he's not going back on his word and insists that the August 1 deadline is the final one. July 9: Trump sends more letters, hitting Brazil with a 50% tariff rate. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promises to reciprocate. July 12: Trump announces a 35% tariff on Canadian goods, claiming Canada had "financially retaliated" to earlier duties. He says the EU will receive a similar letter soon. July 13: Trump announces a 30% tariff rate on the EU and Mexico, telling both that "whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added on to the 30% that we charge." July 31: Trump signs an executive order delaying the tariff deadline for the EU and other partners from August 1 to August 7. August 6: Trump announces a further 25% tariff rate on India's imports due to their purchase of Russian oil, bringing the total to 50%. US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he signed an executive order to impose an additional 25% tariff on India. He cited India's continued purchase of Russian oil. The order comes just a day before a separate 25% tariff on Indian goods was due to take effect. The latest decision is set to come into force in three weeks. Trump had threatend allies of Russia to stop importing oil from Moscow or face high tariffs. Ties between the US and India have taken a downturn as they failed to reach a trade agreement to avert Trump's tariffs. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video US President Donald Trump's tariffs on the EU and other trading partners are set to finally come into effect on Friday, following numerous delays since his first "Liberation Day" announcement back in April. The tariff threats have triggered widespread uncertainty and concerns about the impact on the global economy. Countries facing heavy tariff rates have sought to make deals with the Trump administration, but have also threatened to impose their own counter tariffs. Stick with our Trump tariffs blog for the latest updates, analysis and explainers.
