The Senate has approved a measure pushing back on President Trump’s tariffs. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was approved with GOP support but is not expected to ever come up for a vote in the House.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
J. Scott Applewhite/AP/AP
The Senate voted to undo the 25 percent tariffs that President Trump imposed on Canadian goods — a bipartisan but largely symbolic rebuke, with four Republicans joining all Senate Democrats.
The action on a joint resolution came shortly after President Trump announced a 10 percent tariff on all imports coming into the United States.
The resolution is nonbinding and House Republicans are not expected to bring the policy up for a vote. The bill aims to end an emergency statute invoked by an Executive Order signed by President Trump. The order justified the new tariff by arguing that fentanyl is flowing into the U.S. from the northern border, posing a domestic national emergency.
The Republicans joining Democrats to approve the measure were Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Supporters of the Senate resolution argued that that law was meant to use against adversaries, not Canada, a longtime U.S. ally.
“Tariffs are a tax. Tariffs will hurt our families. Canada is not an enemy. Let’s act together to fight fentanyl. We can do that,” Senator Tim Kaine, the lead sponsor of the resolution said.
Trump preemptively criticized Republicans for supporting the measure in an early morning post on his social media site, Truth Social. He also vowed he would never sign the bill if it cleared Congress.
“Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul, also of Kentucky, will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy,” Trump wrote. “
“They are playing with the lives of the American people, and right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats and Drug Cartels. The Senate Bill is just a ploy of the Dems to show and expose the weakness of certain Republicans, namely these four, in that it is not going anywhere because the House will never approve it and I, as your President, will never sign it.”
Kaine held a press conference with business owners from his home state on Tuesday, arguing they and their customers would be hit hard. He said the reason for the executive order was “so they can use the tariff revenue to give a tax cut to billionaires.”
At that event Bill Butcher, the president of Port City Brewing, a craft beer company in Alexandria, Virginia, said he expected he would have to raise the price of a six pack of beer from $12.99 to $18.99. He said he expects customers will look for lower priced alternatives. “We fear it’s going to slow our business down and we’re trying to grow our business.”
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican supporter of the resolution, argued on the Senate floor that there was a strong case for tariffs against Mexico and China “But I don’t see the case for Canada.”
She outlined the wide range of Maine industries that would be harmed by tariffs on its neighbor across the border — tourism, farming, lobster processing. “The Maine economy is integrated with Canada – our most important trading partner,” Collins said. She warned the tariffs would be detrimental to families and the economy.
Most Senate Republicans oppose the measure and emphasized that removing the emergency would impact the U.S. effort to combat the influx of fentanyl, which continues to impact communities across the country.
Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. argued against the bill in a speech on the Senate floor.
“If we are serious about ending the fentanyl crisis in American we need to address the entirety of the crisis,” he said. “We’re not going to solve the problem by going after just part of it. Ending this emergency would tell the cartels that they should shift their focus to the southern border.”
Democrats framed new tariffs as taxes on the American consumers. And Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul, who voted for the resolution, argued it’s Congress’ job to determine tax policy, not the president, as set out in the Constitution.
“This isn’t about political party. I voted for and supported President Trump, but I don’t support the rule of one person,” Paul said. “This is a tax, plain and simple on the American people, but one person can’t do that. Our Founding Fathers said it would be illegal for one person to raise taxes. It has to come to Congress.”
The U.S Chamber of Commerce endorsed the bill on Wednesday, joining several unions, the conference of U.S. mayors, and groups representing retailers and manufacturers. “Tariffs are taxes — paid by Americans – and they will quickly increase prices at a time when many are struggling with the cost of living,” Neil Bradley, CEO of the U.S. Chamber wrote in a letter to the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Tim Kaine. He also argued the tariffs violated the trade deal negotiated with Canada and Mexico during the first Trump administration.
