Trump Credits Tariffs for Surprisingly Strong Economic Growth

The gross domestic product (GDP) grew in the third quarter by 4.3 percent, outpacing forecasts, according to a Commerce Department estimate.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that his tariffs led to a significant expansion of the U.S. economy after a federal agency released its estimates for the third quarter of 2025.

The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.3 percent with an increase in consumer spending and exports, according to an estimate released by the Department of Commerce on Dec. 23.

“The TARIFFS are responsible for the GREAT USA Economic Numbers JUST ANNOUNCED…AND THEY WILL ONLY GET BETTER! Also, NO INFLATION & GREAT NATIONAL SECURITY. Pray for the U.S. Supreme Court!!!” the president wrote in a Dec. 23 post on Truth Social.

In a post later on Tuesday, Trump said that some economists “got it WRONG” in their forecasts about the U.S. economy and that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he signed into law over the summer and which included some new tax provisions, also would help the economy even more.

“Consumer spending is STRONG, Net Exports are WAY UP, Imports and Trade Deficits are WAY DOWN, and there is NO INFLATION! Because of my Tax Bill (THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL) and TARIFFS, INVESTMENT IS SETTING RECORDS,” he also wrote in the post.

GDP increased at a 4.3 percent annualized rate last quarter, the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2023, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its initial third quarter estimate. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP would rise at a 3.3 percent pace. The economy grew at a 3.8 percent pace in the second quarter.

The Supreme Court is currently hearing a case involving the legality of a range of tariffs that Trump had imposed across most countries in the world, starting in the spring of this year.

Justices heard arguments on the case in November on lawsuits from companies against the administration that claim the tariffs were improperly implemented under a 1977 economic law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.