US Senate Votes to Overturn Trump-Era Tariffs on Canadian Imports
Bipartisan resolution passes 50–46 amid backlash over new 10% tariffs, lawmakers say move strains key trade ties
WASHINGTON, Oct 30: In a significant bipartisan move, the US Senate on Wednesday voted 50–46 to revoke former President Donald Trump’s authority to impose steep tariffs on Canada, following his recent decision to hike duties by an additional 10 per cent over a television advertisement critical of his trade policies, The Hill reported.
Four Republican senators Susan Collins (Maine), Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Rand Paul (Kentucky) broke ranks with their party to join Democrats in passing the resolution aimed at curbing Trump’s tariff powers.
The Senate had previously approved a similar measure in April, but it stalled in the then Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The resolution’s sponsor, Senator Tim Kaine (Democrat–Virginia), reintroduced it this week, arguing that Trump’s tariffs on Canada lacked legal justification under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
“I object to the Canada tariffs because I don’t think there’s an emergency that should trigger the use of this statute,” Kaine said during the debate. “The fracturing of this long-standing, powerful relationship with Canada is one of the many reasons I oppose them.”
Senator Susan Collins, who represents the border state of Maine, reiterated that the tariffs would damage local industries closely linked to Canadian trade.
“The Maine economy is integrated with Canada, our most important trading partner,” Collins said earlier, warning that tariffs on petroleum products, paper mills, forest industries, and fisheries would hurt families and local businesses.
The dispute between Washington and Ottawa escalated earlier this week after Ontario aired a television advertisement during the World Series featuring a speech by former President Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs. Trump called the ad a “hostile act” and a “serious misrepresentation of the facts,” announcing a 10 per cent increase in tariffs on Canadian imports in retaliation.
Wednesday’s Senate vote came just a day after five Republican senators joined Democrats in passing a similar resolution to terminate Trump’s emergency authority to impose tariffs on Brazil, signaling growing bipartisan resistance to his use of executive trade powers.
If approved by the House of Representatives, the resolution would mark one of the strongest congressional rebukes yet of Trump’s protectionist trade policies and his expansive interpretation of emergency economic powers.
