(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump recently floated giving $2,000 to most Americans from tariff revenue collected by the administration.
Trump made the proposal on social media Sunday and added that those who are against tariffs are “fools.”
The idea isn’t a new concept. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced legislation in July that would give $600 tariff rebates to nearly all Americans and their dependent children to “allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump’s tariffs are returning to this country.”
Here is what to know about the latest proposal.
What has Trump said about tariff dividends?
In addition to the $2,000 rebates, Trump suggested the tariff revenue could also be used to pay down the country’s debt, which, according to the U.S. Treasury, is at nearly $38.12 trillion.
In October, Trump announced his administration was considering sending checks ranging from $1,000 to $2,000.
“We’ll pay back debt, but we also might make a distribution to the people, almost like a dividend to the people of America,” Trump said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News on Sunday he had not spoken to the president about the proposal, but that the dividend could come in “lots of forms, in lots of ways” — not necessarily in the form of stimulus checks.
“It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda,” Bessent said. “No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security. Deductibility of auto loans.”
Who would qualify for tariff checks?
Trump did not clarify who would qualify for the checks, but wrote that “everyone,” except “high-income people,” would be paid at least $2,000.
The administration did not offer additional details on the proposal, which would likely need congressional approval.
According to its September statement, the Treasury Department had collected $195 billion from tariff duties.
History of government rebates
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed three rounds of stimulus checks, two of which were signed into law by Trump during his first term in office.
The first round of checks went out in March of 2020 and gave $1,200 to each tax filer and $500 per dependent. A second round went out in December of 2020 and gave $600 to each tax filer and $600 per child.
In the first two rounds of checks, individuals making up to $75,000 a year and married couples making up to $150,000 were eligible for the full amount.
Under President Joe Biden, the third round went out in March of 2021 and gave each tax filer $1,400, or $2,800 for married couples, with $1,400 per dependent.