Key Points
- Many of Trump’s most significant tariff threats in 2025 did not materialize. The promised “External Revenue Service” has not yet been created.
- Threats of a 200% tariff on European wine and a 100% tariff on foreign films were never implemented.
- A planned 100% tariff on pharmaceuticals also did not take effect.
- The details of a proposed “$2,000 tariff dividend” remain unclear.
President Trump spent 2025 making numerous major promises and threats regarding tariffs. While he did impose a barrage of new taxes on imports that changed decades of U.S. trade policy, many of his most dramatic proposals never actually happened. As the year comes to a close, it’s worth looking at what he said he would do versus where things stand now.
One of Trump’s major proposals was to create an “External Revenue Service” to collect all the new tariff revenue. He even declared January 20, 2025, as its “birth date.” However, as of December, the new agency no longer exists.
Similarly, his threat to impose a 200% tax on European wine and spirits never materialized. The EU postponed its planned tariffs on American whiskey, and the two sides eventually reached a trade agreement that set a much lower 15% rate on most European imports.
The President also aimed at Hollywood, repeatedly promising a 100% tariff on all foreign-made films. He argued that other countries were “stealing” the movie business from America. Despite these strong words, no such tariff has been implemented, and it remains unclear how the government would tax an intangible product such as a movie.
Trump made similar threats against the pharmaceutical industry, at one point suggesting a 200% tax on foreign-made drugs. He later set a deadline of October 1 for a 100% tariff, but that date passed without action. Instead, the administration has focused on making deals with individual companies and countries to lower drug prices.
Finally, there was the promise of a “$2,000 tariff dividend” for every American. Trump claimed the money from the new import taxes would be so great that he could send a check to everyone. However, budget experts say the math doesn’t add up, and the administration has since suggested this “dividend” might just come in the form of tax cuts.
