U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said tariff receipts will come in "substantially" higher than the Treasury’s earlier $300 billion estimate for 2025 and will be directed toward reducing the national debt and lowering the federal deficit relative to GDP. She did not disclose a new figure or a specific timetable but stressed that all additional revenue generated by the levies will be applied to debt reduction. The statement follows the 145% tariff on Chinese imports that took effect on 9 April and has become the main driver of this year’s customs-duty surge. Bessent argued that channeling the unexpected windfall into principal repayment would improve fiscal sustainability without the need for new spending cuts or tax increases. The United States carries roughly $37 trillion in outstanding debt, and the federal government ran a $291 billion budget shortfall in July alone. Some market commentators questioned whether even a sharply higher tariff take can materially change the debt trajectory absent a broader move toward budget surpluses.