How will Trump's $2,000 tariff dividend be given out? Treasury secy Bessent shares key details

US chairperson Donald ruff’s promulgation that Americans may have a tariff “dividend” of at least $2,000 has left many curious about who will be eligible and, more importantly, how and when these payments will be processed.

Now, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has dropped hints over how the tariff “dividend” payments will be given out.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday the $2,000 dividend could come through the tax cuts passed in Trump’s economic policy bill earlier this year

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said he would send “at least $2000” directly to Americans using money collected from tariffs. He said the move would reward taxpayers and help reduce the United States’ national debt, even as his tariff policy faces a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.

Trump also clarified that the $2,000 payment would not go to “high income people”, though he did not specify what income level would make someone ineligible.

“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We are now the Richest, Most Respected Country in the World, With Almost No Inflation, and a Record Stock Market Price. 401k’s are Highest EVER.”

During an appearance on ABC’s This Week, Bessent was asked about Trump’s social media post, in which he said he had not discussed the idea with the US president.

He, however, said that “the $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways. It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda — no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security – deductibility on auto loans.”

Trump has stepped up his defence of his tariff policies after the Supreme Court heard arguments on November 5 in a case seeking to overturn them. Some justices expressed doubt, suggesting that several of the tariffs could be struck down, potentially leading to over $100 billion in refunds and removing a key part of his second-term plan.

The case partly concerns Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, introduced on April 2, which impose taxes ranging from 10% to 50% on most US imports depending on their country of origin. Trump has argued that these tariffs are necessary to correct the long-standing national trade imbalance.

In his Truth Social post, Trump said the US is “taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion.”

Commenting on the president’s remarks, Bessent said, “Over the course of the next few years we could take in trillions of dollars. But the real goal of tariffs is to rebalance trade and make it more fair.”

With inputs from agencies

---

---