CBO Projects Trump Tariffs to Cut Budget Gap by $2.8 Trillion

President Donald Trump’s tariff policies in effect as of mid-May would help to shrink US fiscal deficits by an estimated $2.8 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO released the figure Wednesday in a letter to Democratic congressional leaders, who had requested the estimate. The head of the office, Phillip Swagel, cautioned in the letter that the “CBO’s estimates are subject to significant uncertainty,” in part because the Trump administration could change how it conducts its tariff policies.

“Moreover, because the United States has implemented no increases in tariffs of this size in many decades, ...