The Senate has once again voted to block Trump’s tariffs, this time targeting his duties on Canadian exports.
This marks the second vote in two days pushing back on the president’s trade agenda, with the latest tally coming in at 50-46 on Wednesday.
Four Republicans crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats: Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Rand Paul. All four had already backed the Tuesday resolution against tariffs on Brazil and previously voted to kill the Canada tariffs back in April.
Wednesday’s vote was the second of three planned Senate actions this week challenging Trump’s use of emergency tariff powers.
A final vote targeting his broader global tariffs is set for Thursday, and if this pattern holds, Trump’s entire tariff scheme could get shredded in the Senate… well at least symbolically anyway.
The resolutions won’t have teeth until the House takes them up, and Republican leaders there have already delayed any votes until March, using a procedural block.
Trump cut off Canada trade talks after Ontario aired Reagan ad
Trump scrapped trade talks with Canada last weekend after a regional government in Ontario aired a baseball ad quoting Ronald Reagan blasting tariffs.
The ad, which aired during playoff games, showed the late president from a 1987 radio address where he said, “The way to prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition.”
Reagan was referencing tariffs on Japan, but also warned about trade wars.
That clearly struck a nerve. Trump quickly called the ad fake and claimed Reagan actually supported tariffs. But McConnell wasn’t buying it. On Tuesday, he fired back:
“The economic harms of trade wars are not the exception to history, but the rule. And no cross-eyed reading of Reagan will reveal otherwise.”
McConnell also confirmed he’ll support all resolutions to end emergency tariff authorities.
Trump also threatened to raise the current 35% duty on Canadian goods by another 10%, but hasn’t followed through… yet. That threat is still hanging, even as Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’s willing to get back to the table.
Carney said before the talks collapsed, there had been “considerable progress” on issues like steel, aluminum, and energy tariffs.
Senators split over Canada vs Brazil tariff justifications
Not all Republicans were on board with killing the Canada tariffs.Sen. Thom Tillis from North Carolina voted to keep them, after voting against the Brazil tariffs a day earlier.
“The Brazil tariff is very different,” Tillis said. “It appeared to center on a disagreement that had nothing to do with business or trade.”
On the other hand, Collins, who represents a border state, said she’s directly seen the harm the tariffs have caused.
“I’ve seen firsthand the damage that the Canadian tariffs have caused,” she told reporters. “I also believe the Canadians have worked very hard to try to stem the flow of drugs into this country… the vast majority of drugs arrive from the southern border, not the northern border. So I don’t think the basis for imposing tariffs on Canada is a valid one.”
She was joined by Murkowski and Paul, who also co-sponsored the resolution. It was the same lineup of GOP senators that joined with Democrats to block the Brazil resolution on Tuesday.
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