US Senate vote protesting Trump's tariff moves draws some Republican support
- Democrats need support of at least four Republicans to win passage
- Senators say Trump tariffs will hurt businesses in their states
- Goal of legislation is terminating Trump 'emergency' declaration
The US Senate on Wednesday is expected to vote on a measure protesting President Donald Trump's new tariffs on Canadian imports, in a move expected to draw some Republican support in that chamber but fall flat in the House of Representatives.
The Democratic-sponsored bill would terminate a national emergency Trump declared on January 22, which he linked to illegal imports of the deadly fentanyl drug from Mexico, Canada and China and used to target Canada with steep new tariffs.
The measure would need at least four Republican votes to pass in the chamber where Trump's party holds a 53-47 majority. In an overnight social media post he urged four fellow Republicans by name to reject the bill: Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.
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Collins said in a speech to the Senate on Wednesday that Trump's proposed Canadian tariffs would hurt several industries in her home state of Maine, including its paper makers, which obtain pulp via a pipeline from Canada.
As the debate wore on, Paul also attacked new, steep tariffs on Canada in a Senate speech.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, the leading sponsor of the tariff-ending bill, noted during debate of the bill that the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal negotiated during Trump's first term as president "has dispute-resolution mechanisms that would make imposition of tariffs unnecessary."
Public data shows that about 0.2% of all fentanyl seized in the US comes across the Canadian border.
Even if the measure passes the Senate, it is unlikely to advance in the House, where Trump's Republicans also hold a majority.
