US Senate approves resolution against Canadian tariffs

The United States Senate on Wednesday approved, with the support of four Republicans, a resolution to suppress President Donald Trump's authority to impose tariffs on Canada , four days after the president decreed a 10% tariff increase and after approving a similar measure for Brazil the previous day.

With 50 votes in favor and 46 against, the US Senate passed a resolution to end the emergency declared by the White House occupant to impose high tariffs on Canada, a text that has had the support of the Democratic caucus and four Republican senators: Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul, as detailed by the news site The Hill.

The measure had already been approved in April with the support of the same four conservatives, but the House of Representatives , controlled by the Republican Party itself, has refused to address it since then, a situation that led Democrat Tim Kaine to reintroduce it in the Senate.

"I oppose the tariffs on Canada primarily because I don't believe there is an emergency that justifies the application of this law, but there are many other reasons why I oppose it, and the fracturing of this strong, long-standing relationship is one of them," the senator stated.

Among the Republicans who voted in favor, Senator Collins, who claimed in April that Canada is the "most important trading partner" of the state of Maine, for which she was elected, now argued that "tariffs on Canada would be harmful to many Maine families."

Rand Paul, in turn, argued that "these tariffs hit families, farmers, and small businesses the hardest, and in Kentucky (his state) they are devastating key industries." "Congress must reclaim its constitutional authority and stop this abuse of economic power before more jobs and industries are destroyed," he asserted.

The decision comes after Trump announced on Saturday additional tariffs of 10% on products from Canada in retaliation for an announcement by the province of Ontario that used the words of former US President Ronald Reagan to criticize trade protectionism.

Also on Tuesday, the Senate adopted a very similar resolution aimed at ending the emergency authorization declared by Trump to impose high tariffs on Brazil. It also had the support of the same Republican senators, joined by Thom Tillis, also from the Republican party.