19 hours Ago By HuffPost
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Wednesday to terminate President Donald Trump’s emergency powers to impose tariffs on Canada shortly after he announced even more aggressive tariffs in a celebratory “ Liberation Day ” event at the White House. The 51-48 vote marked a rare bipartisan rebuke of the Trump administration’s erratic trade policies amid heightened business uncertainty, turbulent markets, and growing fears of an economic recession. Still, only four Republicans bucked Trump and joined Democrats in voting for the measure: Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Most of their colleagues abandoned their decades-long advocacy for free trade and opposed the bill. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.
) led the effort under a provision in a 1976 law that allows any senator to force a vote to block emergency powers being abused by the president. He accused Trump of levying tariffs to help finance massive tax cuts for the wealthy. “Tariffs are a tax on everyday people,” he said.
“Canadian tariffs, in particular, what will they end up taxing? They’ll tax groceries and food products. They’ll tax building supplies at a time when home prices are too high. They’ll tax fertilizers for our farmers.
They will tax our national security industries like aluminum and steel.” The bill has little chance of reaching the president’s desk, however. The GOP-led House snuck a provision into last month’s government funding bill disallowing the lower chamber from considering such challenges to Trump’s trade authorities until next year.
Trump urged Republican senators to oppose the resolution anyway. “Don’t let the Democrats have a Victory,” he wrote in a Tuesday post on his social media site TruthSocial. “It would be devastating for the Republican Party and, far more importantly, for the United States.
” But a handful of Republicans didn’t buy that argument — at least not when it comes to trade with longstanding U.S. allies in North America.
They pointed out that tariffs on imports are effectively taxes being paid by U.S. consumers.
“I think tariffs on trade between U.S. and Canada will threaten our country with a recession,” Paul warned Wednesday.
“I think they’re a terrible idea economically and will lead to higher prices. Tariffs are simply taxes.” “Republicans used to be ― and conservatives in particular ― used to be against new taxes,” he told reporters.
“Adding new taxes will, when you tax something, you get less of. If you want to tax trade, you’ll get less trade. Historically, tariffs have also led to political decimation.
” A number of other Republicans expressed similar concerns about Trump’s tariffs, even though ultimately they weren’t willing to vote against the president’s wishes. “Anyone who says there may be a little bit of pain before we get things right needs to talk to my farmers who are one crop away from bankruptcy,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.
C.) told CNN. “So we’ve got to be crisp on this implementation.
Otherwise, we could do damage that is irreparable to farmers.” But Trump has been undeterred by concerns within his party and within the business community about the effects of a widespread global trade war. Announcing sharp reciprocal tariffs on more nations in a White House Rose Garden ceremony on Wednesday, including a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles starting at midnight, he dubbed it America’s “Declaration of Economic Independence.
” “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” he said..
