Commerce Secretary Lutnick predicts tariff revenues of $50 billion per month

President Trump's latest tariffs take effect today and stand to nearly double the economy’s monthly revenue. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the U.S. economy gained about $30 billion in tariff revenue last month, in a Thursday interview with Fox Business. He predicts that number to increase to $50 billion per month as more tariffs take effect. 

"As the president says, this could continue to head towards, and ultimately reach, a trillion dollars," Lutnick told the news network. "These are amazing numbers for the United States of America, and no one's retaliating. Everybody understands you've got to sell to the American consumer. The American consumer is the most powerful factor [on] the Earth for the economy, and Donald Trump is harnessing it for the benefit of the American people."

Trump’s tariffs have raised the average U.S. import duty to its highest in a century, with countries facing tariffs of 10% to 50%, Reuters reported. 

Trump has plans for a 100% tariff on imported semiconductor chips to incentivize manufacturers onshore production to America. The plan includes tariff exemptions for companies like Apple that plan to build plants in the U.S. Apple plans to invest a total of $600 billion over four years into building out its U.S. supply chain and onshoring more of its specialized manufacturing.

Lutnick predicts the initiative will generate $1 trillion in investment towards domestic manufacturing. "His objective is to get semiconductor manufacturing done here," he said of the president's motives. 

Trump is also proposing an incremental tariff on pharmaceutical imports that would eventually reach 250%. 

The U.S. trade deficit with China dropped in June by $4.6 billion to $9.4 billion, as President Donald Trump’s tariffs took full effect, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

— Hannah Parker and Joseph Zeballos-Roig contributed to this article.