TRUST Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The TRUST Act creates a Treasury fund called the Tariff Trust Fund. Starting with duties collected on or after October 1, 2025, tariff revenue deposited in the fund is reserved for deficit reduction if the United States maintains a budget deficit for a fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2026 and continues to run a deficit in the following fiscal year. When that two-year deficit trigger is met, the amounts in the fund must be transferred to the Treasury general fund and used only for deficit reduction, notwithstanding other law. The bill does not raise or lower tariff rates; it changes the budgetary destination and use of tariff collections when deficits persist.
Who Benefits and How
Federal taxpayers benefit if dedicated tariff revenue reduces federal borrowing needs during consecutive deficit years. Budget hawks benefit because tariff receipts receive a statutory deficit-reduction lockbox instead of being available for new spending. Treasury debt managers benefit from an earmarked source for reducing the general fund deficit when the trigger is met. Members of Congress seeking tariff-linked deficit reduction benefit from a clear trust-fund mechanism.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Treasury Department fund accountants must track tariff receipts, apply the consecutive-deficit trigger, and transfer amounts to the general fund. Appropriators bear the burden because tariff receipts covered by the trigger cannot be redirected to other spending priorities. Import-dependent businesses do not receive tariff relief because the bill uses tariff revenue for deficit reduction rather than reducing duties. Federal program advocates may face less room to argue for using tariff revenue to finance program expansions.
Key Provisions
- Establishes a Tariff Trust Fund in the Treasury of the United States.
- Requires covered tariff receipts to be used only for deficit reduction when consecutive fiscal-year deficits occur.
- Applies to duties collected beginning on and after October 1, 2025.
- Preserves tariff rates while changing the budgetary use of tariff collections.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a Tariff Trust Fund and requires tariff revenue collected on or after October 1, 2025 to be transferred to the general fund for deficit reduction when the United States runs budget deficits in two consecutive fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 2026.
Key Policy Areas
Budget, Trade, Deficit Reduction
Primary Purpose
Creates a Tariff Trust Fund and requires tariff revenue collected on or after October 1, 2025 to be transferred to the general fund for deficit reduction when the United States runs budget deficits in two consecutive fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 2026.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Federal taxpayers
- Budget hawks
- Treasury debt managers
- Members seeking tariff-linked deficit reduction
Identified Costs
- Treasury Department fund accountants
- Appropriators
- Import-dependent businesses
- Federal program advocates
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Moran introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Treasury Department fund accountants, Treasury debt managers
Positive-direction: Treasury debt managers
Negative-direction: Treasury Department fund accountants
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology