The Senate voted Wednesday to terminate the emergency powers that President Trump used to impose tariffs on products from Canada, a neighbor and major trading partner.
Four Republicans joined every Democrat in the 50-46 vote to nullify the 35% levies, though the GOP-led House is not expected to consider the measure.
Senators backing the measure said Mr. Trump’s decision to impose steep levies on Canada would backfire on the closely intertwined North American economy. Fewer Canadians are visiting the U.S., and provincial boycotts have led to a nosedive in Canadian sales of American-made whiskey.
They also said tariffs would cause prices to rise once companies passed along the cost of the duties.
“The American people overwhelmingly oppose Trump’s chaotic trade war with our northern neighbor that is leading to steep declines in Canadian tourism to the U.S. and declining sales of American products in Canada,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat and chief sponsor of the disapproval resolution. “It is our responsibility in Congress to step in when the president abuses their authority, especially when that abuse of power is bad for our economy.”
Mr. Trump says tariffs, or duties on foreign goods brought into U.S. markets, are a good way to create revenue, gain leverage over other countries and protect U.S. industries and workers.
The president imposed hefty tariffs on Canada earlier this year, saying it hadn’t done enough to fight fentanyl trafficking or open its markets to U.S.-made products.
In April, the Senate narrowly passed a resolution to nullify the fentanyl-related 25% tariff that Mr. Trump imposed on Canada, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in support.
The Republican-led House did not take up the measure and is certain to ignore the new resolution, which seeks to terminate tariffs on Canada that have risen to 35%.
Mr. Trump said he plans to raise that tariff by another 10%, citing an Ontario-sponsored ad featuring anti-tariff rhetoric from President Ronald Reagan.
The president is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a major summit in South Korea on Thursday after refusing to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — a sign he is still sore over the ad.
“While he capitulates to Beijing, he’s raising tariffs on Canada. How nonsensical, how stupid, how thoughtless,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said.
The Senate is voting on a series of disapproval resolutions that force each senator to go on record in support or opposition to Mr. Trump’s use of tariff power.
Late Tuesday, the Senate voted, 52-48, to terminate Mr. Trump’s authority to impose 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods. It plans to vote on a third resolution that would terminate Mr. Trump’s authority to impose tariffs on other global trading partners.
Whether Mr. Trump has the power to impose tariffs unilaterally, without Congress, has been a running subplot of his second term. It is the subject of a major case before the Supreme Court that could determine whether Mr. Trump acted lawfully by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The administration says Mr. Trump is working within the parameters of the 1977 law.
Republican leaders in the House and Senate have been happy to let Mr. Trump work his will on trade, hoping he can secure favorable agreements with other nations. Other countries impose tariffs and trade barriers on U.S. products.
“The president’s historic trade negotiations recognize that this cannot continue, and nations across the globe need to reduce their tariff barriers and their non-tariff trade barriers to American companies and American citizens. The president’s negotiations are bearing fruit,” Sen. Mike Crapo, Idaho Republican, said, urging his colleagues to vote “no” on the disapproval resolution.
Democrats are trying to extinguish Mr. Trump’s tariffs with help from a handful of GOP lawmakers like Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a libertarian who believes tariffs can harm Americans.
“These tariffs hit families, farmers, and small businesses the hardest, and in Kentucky, they devastate cornerstone industries like car manufacturing, bourbon, homebuilding, and shipping,” Mr. Paul said. “Congress must reclaim its constitutional authority and stop this economic overreach before more jobs and industries are destroyed.”
Likewise, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said tariffs harmed home-state producers. He said late Tuesday he planned to vote in favor of resolutions terminating tariffs on Brazil, Canada and other parts of the world.
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine also voted to terminate the tariffs on Canadian goods.
