Senate Votes Against New Tariffs on Canada

In a Wednesday evening vote, four Republicans in the U.S. Senate joined with Democrats to challenge President Donald Trump’s authority to impose additional tariffs on Canada.

The 50–46 vote on Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) measure included defections from Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

A similar measure passed by the Senate earlier this year has not been taken up by the House, where House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has significant control over what comes to the floor.

The measure, if it were approved by the House, would allow Congress to declare its disapproval of Trump’s most recent imposition of tariffs on Canada.

The vote comes after Trump moved to ramp up tariffs on Canada by 10 percent in response to a TV ad criticizing his policies.

The ad featured commentary from President Ronald Reagan—an outspoken advocate of global free trade during his presidency—criticizing tariffs.

Trump said that this constituted a “hostile act” and “serious misrepresentation of the facts” by Canada, and announced the new tariffs in response.

Kaine said in a speech on the Senate floor that the move risks “fracturing” the United States’ relationship with its northern neighbor and can’t be justified under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Under that statute, the president may impose tariffs in the event of an economic emergency, but these tariffs are subject to cancellation if both chambers of Congress disapprove of them in a joint resolution.

“I primarily object to the Canada tariffs because I don’t think there’s an emergency that should trigger the use of this statute, but there are many other reasons I object to them and the fracturing of this long-standing powerful relationship is one of them,” the Democrat said.

In April, a similar measure, also sponsored by Kaine, was passed by the upper chamber and backed by the same Republicans.

However, the House didn’t take the issue up at the time.

It’s unclear if Johnson will allow a vote on this measure.

The Republicans backing the measure have expressed different reasons for their support.

On the previous occasion when she voted for Kaine’s measure, Collins cited her native Maine’s close-knit economic relationship with Canada, which it borders.

Paul cited concerns that Trump was overstepping his constitutional bounds and that control over the issue needed to be returned to Congress.

“These tariffs hit families, farmers, and small businesses the hardest, and in Kentucky they devastate cornerstone industries like car manufacturing, bourbon, homebuilding and shipping,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “Congress must reclaim its constitutional authority and stop this economic overreach before more jobs and industries are destroyed.”