Donald Trump announced an idea to create a new government agency called the “External Revenue Service” to collect tariffs and duties from other countries. He said this agency would make sure foreign trading partners pay their fair share to the U.S. government. Trump claimed that the current system relies too much on taxing Americans through the IRS, and he wants to shift that burden to other countries by charging them for trading with the U.S.
In his statement, Trump explained that the U.S. has been helping grow the global economy through weak trade deals while unfairly taxing its own citizens. He promised that, starting on January 20, 2025, this new agency would take over the responsibility of collecting money from foreign sources to strengthen the U.S. economy.
However, many people quickly pointed out that Trump’s idea isn’t new. The U.S. already has an agency that handles this work. Since 1789, when George Washington was president, the U.S. Customs Service (now called the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency) has been collecting tariffs, duties, and other revenue from foreign trade. This agency has been doing the same job Trump is proposing for over 200 years.
Andrew Feinberg, a White House reporter, highlighted this oversight. He said Trump seems unaware that the country has had an “external revenue service” in place since its early days as a nation. This means Trump’s proposed agency would be unnecessary because the job is already being done by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency.
