Trump aide says tariffs will raise $6 trillion, which would be largest tax hike in US history

White House aide Peter Navarro said Sunday that he expects President Donald Trump’s tariffs to bring in $6 trillion in revenue in the next decade, which could amount to the largest tax hike in US history.

White House aide Peter Navarro said Sunday that he expects President Donald Trump’s tariffs to bring in $6 trillion in revenue in the next decade, which could amount to the largest tax hike in US history. Even when adjusting for inflation, that amount would be triple the tax increase put in place in 1942 to pay the cost of fighting World War II. Navarro, Trump’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, insists it’s not a tax increase but a tax cut — echoing the Trump administration’s repeated belief that tariffs will be paid not by American consumers but by businesses in other countries or the countries themselves. “The message is that tariffs are tax cuts, tariffs are jobs, tariffs are national security,” Navarro said on Fox News Sunday. “Tariffs are great for America. They will make America great again.” But most economists say US-imposed tariffs are paid by American businesses and consumers in the form of higher prices on imported goods, not paid by foreigners. Trump plans to announce additional tariffs on Wednesday, which he has dubbed “Liberation Day,” on all manner of imported goods as retaliation for what he sees as unfair barriers to US exports to other countries. Trump has already announced tariffs on all goods from China, Mexico and Canada, and this week a 25% tariff on all imported cars is set to take effect.