Here's what to know about President Trump's proposal for $2,000 tariff dividends

President Donald Trump is proposing giving Americans a $2,000 tariff dividend check, an announcement that critics described as a “tactical distraction” during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

“People (who) are against tariffs are fools,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that went viral. “We are now the richest, most respected country in the world with almost no inflation and a record stock market price.”

In his post on Sunday, Trump went on to say that “401K’s are the highest ever” and that there’s “recorded investment in the USA.”

“We are taking in trillions of dollars and will soon begin paying down our enormous debt, 37 trillion,” he wrote, referring to his tariff agenda.

He noted in his post that everyone except “high-income people” would receive a “dividend of at least $2,000.”

Here’s what we know about the proposal:

What is a tariff dividend?

A tariff check would be a direct payment that allows Americans to receive some of the revenue collected by the federal government from tariffs on imported goods.

Who will qualify for the tariff dividend check?

Trump hasn’t outlined who will qualify for the dividend check. However, he did say that it wouldn’t be issued to “high-income people.”

As of now, it’s unclear who he deems to be high-income and whether the dividends include payments to children, like the stimulus checks issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congress passed three rounds of stimulus checks during the global pandemic, which claimed the lives of hundreds. In March 2020, Congress gave $1,200 to every person who filed their taxes and $500 per child.

In December 2020, Congress gave $600 to every person who filed their taxes and $600 per child. The final round of stimulus checks provided in March 2021 gave every tax filer $1,400 or $2,800 for married couples, along with $1,400 per child or dependent.

Individuals making up to $75,000 a year and married couples making up to $150,000 a year received the full payments under the two stimulus checks Trump signed into law. Those who made higher amounts received reduced payments.

How much will the tariff dividends cost the U.S.?

According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, if 10% of the population doesn’t qualify to receive the check, that leaves more than 300 million people who will, resulting in a roughly $600 billion expense.

With Trump’s tariffs raising about $270 billion, the center said it would mean the government would be paying out $330 billion more in Trump tariff dividend checks than he’s raising in tariff revenue – adding to the deficit.

“And just to be clear, we were already looking at a budget deficit for 2026 of $1.8 trillion,” Dean Baker, CEPR senior economist, wrote. “If we add $330 billion, the deficit for the fiscal year will be $2.1 trillion. To put this in simple language that even a reporter for a major national news outlet can understand, Trump is proposing to add $2.1 trillion to the debt in 2026; he is not paying it down.”

This article originally published at Here’s what to know about President Trump’s proposal for $2,000 tariff dividends.