How to use tariffs to help pay for tax cuts and government spending. I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles.

Gasoline prices are keeping overall inflation steady. We learned yesterday, but setting aside volatile food and fuel, the core rate of inflation went up three-tenths of a percent from June to July, the biggest jump in five months.

The higher import taxes, tariffs supplied by the Trump administration, are part of that,

economists tell us. At the same time, the tariffs are a moneymaker for the U.S.

government, the nonpartisan committee for a responsible federal budget, finds import taxes

are bringing in billions of dollars in new revenue every month,

Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman reports.

President Trump crowed earlier this week that it's so beautiful to see all the new revenue

coming in from his tariffs. Mark Goldwine is at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

These tariffs are becoming big revenue generators.

Before Trump's second term, tariffs brought in about $7 billion a month.

That could soon hit $40 to $50 billion.

Over the next 10 years, if tariff rates and revenues hold steady, which is by no means certain,

Goldwine predicts federal deficits will be $2.8 trillion lower.

Not enough to pay for the one big, beautiful bill, not enough to move our budget towards balance,

but tariffs may start raising more than the corporate income tax.

Still, there are a lot of variables at play.

The revenue effects, they are the least certain aspect of the whole tariff debate.

Bill Gale at the Urban Brookings Tax Policy Center says tariff collections could decline as the

administration negotiates new trade deals and importers shift to lower tariff countries.

Also, it's not clear what the administration plans to do with a new money.

There's discussion that they want to rebate the revenue to individuals.

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