Section 232 tariffs on aluminium and steel raised $3.6 billion in their first nine months, and revenues for the last two months are likely to push that figure up by around another $1 billion, US government data shows.
That figure would be enough to cover the shortfall in funding sought by United States President Donald Trump for border security. In other words, aluminium and steel tariffs could fund a border wall.The majority of the money raised by tariffs so far has come from steel. Duties collected since the tariffs took effect in March total $2.76 billion in the nine months to November, according to data from the US International Trade Commission (ITC).Steel tariffs revenue started slowly - achieving $1 million in March and $2 million in April - before it started to pick up. The slow start is understandable because even though tariffs began on March 23, Canada, Mexico and the European Union were not included until June 1.In May, steel tariffs brought $105 million into government coffers, but it was not until the next month that duties collected soared to $421 million and continued in this vein...