TRUST Act Earmarks Excess Tariff Revenue Strictly for Deficit Reduction, But Only After Two Years of Deficits

The newly proposed Tariff Revenue Used to Secure Tomorrow Act, or the TRUST Act, sets up a specific, conditional mechanism to tackle the national debt using money collected from tariffs—those taxes we pay on imported goods.

The Double-Deficit Trigger

This bill establishes a brand-new account in the U.S. Treasury called the Tariff Trust Fund. Here’s the catch: money only flows into this fund if the federal government posts a budget deficit for two fiscal years in a row, starting with fiscal year 2026. Think of it like this: if the government spends more than it takes in for two consecutive years, a special financial action is triggered. This is a highly specific condition (SEC. 2).

If that double-deficit trigger is pulled, then for that second year, any tariff revenue collected that is more than the amount collected in fiscal year 2025 gets diverted into the TRUST Fund. For example, if the U.S. collected $100 billion in tariffs in FY2025, and then collected $110 billion in the second deficit year, that extra $10 billion would be moved into the new fund. The baseline for what counts as 'excess' revenue is fixed to the FY2025 number, no matter how much the economy or trade changes later on.

Locked Down for Debt Reduction

Once those excess tariff dollars land in the Tariff Trust Fund, they are essentially locked away. The bill explicitly states that funds moved to this account can only be used for reducing the national deficit (SEC. 2). They can’t be used for anything else—no new infrastructure projects, no funding for existing social programs, and no discretionary spending. It’s a dedicated, one-way street aimed solely at chipping away at the debt.

For the average person, this means that under certain conditions—two years of government overspending—a specific revenue stream (tariffs) gets hard-wired to debt reduction. On one hand, it’s a clear, disciplined approach to addressing the national debt. On the other hand, it removes flexibility. If the government hits that two-year deficit trigger and collects a lot of excess tariff revenue, that money can’t be redirected to, say, emergency disaster relief or shoring up a struggling agency, even if those needs are critical. It’s debt reduction or nothing. The mechanism itself becomes effective immediately upon signing, but the actual process of collecting and depositing these excess tariff dollars won't kick off until October 1, 2025.