Aug 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's budget deficit

grew nearly 20% in July to $291 billion despite a nearly $21

billion jump in customs duty collections from President Donald

Trump's tariffs, with outlays growing faster than receipts, the

Treasury Department said on Tuesday.

The deficit for July was up 19%, or $47 billion, from July

2024. Receipts for the month grew 2%, or $8 billion, to $338

billion, while outlays jumped 10%, or $56 billion, to $630

billion, a record high for the month.

The month of July this year had fewer business days than last

year, so the Treasury Department said that adjusting for the

difference would have increased receipts by about $20 billion,

resulting in a deficit of about $271 billion.

Net customs receipts in July grew to about $27.7 billion

from about $7.1 billion in the year-earlier period due to higher

tariff rates imposed by Trump, a Treasury official said. These

collections were largely in line with the increase in June

customs receipts after steady growth since April.

Trump has touted the billions of dollars flowing into U.S.

coffers from his tariffs, but the duties are paid by companies

importing the goods, with some costs often passed on to

consumers in the form of higher prices.

Consumer price index data on Tuesday

showed increases

in prices for some tariff-sensitive goods like furniture,

footwear and auto parts, but they were offset by lower gasoline

prices in the overall index.

For the first 10 months of the fiscal year, customs duties

totaled $135.7 billion, up $73 billion, or 116%, from the

year-earlier period.

The overall year-to-date budget results showed a $1.629

trillion deficit, up 7%, or $112 billion, from the same period a

year earlier. Receipts were up 6%, or $262 billion, to $4.347

trillion, a record high for the 10-month period, while outlays

grew 7%, or $374 billion, to $5.975 trillion, also a 10-month

record.