“A little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration — and a very effective form of promotion.” (Donald Trump, “The Art of the Deal”)

In his great confusion (or “truthful hyperbole”) about tariff mechanics, President Trump proclaimed that China is paying US tariffs: he tweeted that “I am very happy with over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling U.S. coffers… great for the U.S. not good for China.”

Steil and Della Rocca from the Council of Foreign Relations point out that the $100 billion is without foundation and actual tariff revenues are less than $10 billion: “As we pointed out last December, Trump’s tariff claims have a bigger flaw. In 2018, the U.S. government committed to paying American farmers $9.6 billion to offset their losses from Chinese tariff retaliation. This is about $1 billion more than it took in all year from Trump’s China tariffs. Tariffs, therefore, ending up not just harming American companies and consumers, but costing the government money. More money left “U.S. coffers” to offset farm losses than came into them from U.S. importers.”

“Since last year, as the graphic above shows, Trump’s “tariff deficit” has only ballooned further. The Department of Agriculture just unveiled a new $16 billion bailout for farmers hit by the trade war. After just ten months of a trade war with China, subsidies to farmers are set to drain over $25 billion from “U.S. coffers” for damage done to date. China tariffs, meanwhile, have so far brought in just over $19 billion in tax payments from U.S. importers—$6 billion less than authorized farmer payments.”