US Senate votes to revoke Trump's tariffs on Canada

Washington DC [US], October 30 :
The US Senate on Wednesday (local time) voted 50-46 to revoke President Donald Trump's authority to impose steep tariffs on Canada, following his recent decision to raise tariffs on the country by an additional 10 per cent over a television ad that criticised his trade policies, The Hill reported.

Four Republican senators -- Susan Collins (Maine), Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Rand Paul (Kentucky) -- joined Democrats in supporting the resolution to end Trump's tariff powers.

The Senate had previously approved the same measure on April 2, but its progress stalled after the Republican-controlled House refused to take it up. The resolution's sponsor, Senator Tim Kaine (Democrat-Virginia), reintroduced it this week, arguing that Trump's tariffs on Canada cannot be justified under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, The Hill reported.

"I primarily 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 floor 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 Maine, a state bordering Canada, has repeatedly warned that the tariffs would hurt her state's economy. "The Maine economy is integrated with Canada, our most important trading partner," she said in an earlier statement, adding that tariffs on petroleum products, paper mills, forest industries, and fisheries would be detrimental to many Maine families and local economies."

Trump's dispute with Canada escalated earlier this week after Ontario aired a television advertisement during the World Series featuring a speech by former US President Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs. Calling the ad a "serious misrepresentation of the facts" and a "hostile act," Trump announced a 10 per cent increase in tariffs on Canadian imports in retaliation.

Wednesday's Senate vote came a day after five Republican senators joined Democrats in passing a similar resolution to terminate Trump's emergency authority to impose tariffs on Brazil.