Republican senators face uncomfortable vote on Trump's Canadian tariffs

The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 7:42 AM EDT | Last Updated: 25 minutes ago

Senate Democrats are putting Republican enactment for immoderate of Donald Trump's tariff plans to the trial by forcing a ballot to nullify the exigency declaration that underpins the levies connected Canada.

Republicans person watched with immoderate unease arsenic the president's attempts to remake planetary commercialized person sent the banal marketplace downward, but they person truthful acold stood by Trump's on-again-off-again threats to levy taxes connected imported goods.

Even arsenic the solution from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia offered them a imaginable off-ramp to the tariffs levied connected Canadian imports, Republican leaders were trying to support senators successful enactment by focusing connected fentanyl that comes into the U.S. implicit its bluish border. 

"I truly relish giving my Republican colleagues the accidental to not conscionable accidental they're concerned, but really instrumentality an enactment to halt these tariffs," Kaine told The Associated Press successful an interrogation past week.

Kaine's resolution — expected to spell to a ballot arsenic aboriginal arsenic Tuesday — challenges Trump's usage of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, besides called IEEPA, to state an exigency astatine the bluish borderline successful bid to deed Canada with tariffs. The IEEPA includes a proviso allowing immoderate legislator to unit a ballot to artifact exigency powers.

To beryllium palmy successful the Senate, Kaine's measurement would request the enactment of each 46 of his Democratic colleagues successful the chamber, arsenic good arsenic 4 Republicans.

Kentucky Republican Rand Paul is simply a co-sponsor of Kaine's measure.

"I unrecorded successful a authorities wherever we person 3 of the large automobile manufacturers. They're each opposed to the tariffs, and I deliberation that it would wounded them," Paul told a U.S. vigor amusement connected Sunday. "The bourbon manufacture successful Kentucky, they don't similar the tariffs."

According to Politico.com, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson moved earlier this period to artifact the quality of tariff critics to unit a level ballot successful that chamber.

That means it is highly apt that Trump won't beryllium prevented legislatively from pursuing his tariff docket with Canada, but if Kaine's solution succeeds, it would inactive beryllium a symbolic rebuke to the president.

Several Republican senators correspond states that stock a onshore oregon h2o borderline with Canada, a database that includes Susan Collins of Maine, Pennsylvania's Dave McCormick, Steve Daines of Montana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and some senators from Idaho and Ohio. 

Fentanyl a 'smoke screen,' Kaine says

Kaine, successful an op-ed successful the Washington Post precocious past week, accused Trump of "using [a] fake exigency arsenic a fume surface to cod tariff revenue," citing nationalist polling that the measurement is unpopular with Americans, arsenic good arsenic a Yale University survey indicating they could outgo the mean American household up to $2,000 much each year.

A tiny fraction of the fentanyl that comes into the U.S. enters from Canada, and much drugs travel successful the other direction. Customs and Border Protection seized 43 pounds of fentanyl astatine the bluish borderline during the 2024 fiscal year, and since January, authorities person seized little than 1.5 pounds, according to national data. Meanwhile, astatine the confederate U.S.-Mexico border, authorities seized implicit 21,000 pounds past year.

WATCH l White House has fixed shifting explanations for tariff need: 

Most Republicans successful the Senate person signalled they aren't precisely fans of tariffs, but argued that Trump is utilizing them arsenic a negotiating tool.

"I americium supportive of utilizing tariffs successful a mode to execute a circumstantial objective, successful this lawsuit ending cause traffic," Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota told reporters past month. He said this week that his "advice remains the same."

While Trump's adjacent allies successful the Senate were lasting steadfastly by the thought of remaking the U.S. system done tariffs, others person begun openly voicing their dissatisfaction with commercialized wars that could disrupt industries and rise prices connected autos, groceries, lodging and different goods.

"I'm keeping a adjacent oculus connected each these tariffs due to the fact that oftentimes the archetypal folks that are wounded successful a commercialized warfare are your farmers and ranchers," said Daines.

WATCH l Breaking down Trump's car tariff plans: 

Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said helium would similar to spot the U.S. and its trading partners determination to region each tariffs connected each other, and conceded that Trump's tariff threats had injected uncertainty into planetary markets.

"We're successful uncharted waters," Kennedy told reporters. "Nobody knows what the interaction of these tariffs is going to be."

Recession much likely: Goldman Sachs

Earlier this month, Trump deed Canada and Mexico with 25 per cent across-the-board duties, with a little 10 per cent levy connected Canadian vigor — past partially paused the tariffs a fewer days later. Trump said astatine the clip that the intermission would past until April 2, which is Wednesday.

Trump has called Wednesday "Liberation Day" — the time erstwhile helium intends to enforce "reciprocal" tariffs by expanding U.S. duties to lucifer the taxation rates that different countries complaint connected imports. The measures volition bring "tremendous wealth" backmost to the U.S., Trump said Monday.

But economists astatine Goldman Sachs person raised their forecast for ostentation and lowered it for U.S. economical maturation for the extremity of the year.

They present spot a 35 per cent accidental of a U.S. recession successful the adjacent year, up from an earlier forecast of 20 per cent, "reflecting our little maturation forecast, falling confidence, and statements from White House officials indicating willingness to tolerate economical pain," according to Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle.

Reciprocal tariffs aren't the lone ones acceptable to motorboat this week. Trump's 25 per cent levies connected automobiles are acceptable to footwear successful connected Thursday.