US Senate backs Canada over tariffs in rare Trump rebuke

Telegraph

03-04-2025

The US Senate has passed legislation that would terminate new tariffs on Canada in a rare rebuke of Donald Trump, hours after the president unveiled a raft of reciprocal tariffs on other countries.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 51-48 to approve the Bill and sent it to the House of Representatives, where it is likely to be blocked.
Although it is likely to have no material impact on Mr Trump's tariffs, the fact that four Republican senators sided with Democrats to push the legislation through represents a blow to the US president's authority.
The Democrat-sponsored Bill would terminate a national emergency declared by Mr Trump in January over fentanyl crossing the US border from Mexico and Canada, as well as China.
He imposed tariffs on those countries as punishment for failing to stop the flow of the deadly drug into the US.
John Thune, the Senate's Republican majority leader, rallied against the Bill despite Canada being his state's largest export market.
The South Dakota Senator admitted, however, that he had concerns about ' what the ultimate objective ' of imposing tariffs on Canada was.
Like many of his colleagues, Mr Thune said he was mindful of the potential harm retaliatory tariffs posed to home-state industries such as agriculture, and expressed discomfort with any 'across the board tariffs'.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump urged Republicans to vote against the Bill, saying it would be 'devastating' for the party.
But the four Republican senators – Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul – ignored his pressure.
Despite their opposition, Mr Trump remains in control of tariffs, which he announced in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
A 10 per cent baseline tariff was set on all imports to the US, which will come into effect for a number of countries, including the UK, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.
Custom tariffs were imposed on the 'worst offenders', which for Mr Trump included China, the European Union, Japan, and Taiwan. No additional tariffs were placed on Canada and Mexico, which have already been targeted.
Bloomberg reported that some Republican congressmen were driving behind the scenes efforts for tariff exemptions, including for farmers.
Ms Collins, the Maine Republican senator, said she had tried to persuade the White House to soften tariffs against Canada, which would affect the lobstering and paper mills industries in her home state. She told reporters that the decision to impose duties on it 'just makes no sense.'
Meanwhile, Mr McConnell, the former Senate leader and long-time critic of the president, said tariffs on both Canada and Mexico would affect workers in his home state of Kentucky.
Other Republicans have been more supportive. Last week, Senator Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, said the tariffs had led to Honda announcing plans to build a new hybrid vehicle in the state.