In a sharp rebuke of President Trump’s trade agenda, the U.S. Senate voted 50-46 on Wednesday to overturn the emergency powers Trump used to slap tariffs on Canadian goods — a move that’s sent shockwaves through one of America’s closest economic relationships.
Four Republicans broke ranks and joined every Democrat to back the resolution terminating the 35% levies. Still, the measure faces an almost certain dead end in the GOP-controlled House, which has shown no interest in challenging Trump’s tariff authority.
Senators supporting the rollback didn’t hold back. They warned that Trump’s tariffs on Canada — a top U.S. trading partner and neighbor — were already backfiring, damaging American industries and chilling cross-border commerce. Canadian tourism to the U.S. is down, and provinces are retaliating with boycotts, including one that’s driven sales of American-made whiskey into a nosedive.
“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, a Virginia Democrat and chief sponsor of the 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.”
Trump, however, remains defiant. He’s repeatedly argued that tariffs are a way to “create revenue, gain leverage over other countries and protect U.S. industries and workers.” Earlier this year, he slapped the tariffs on Canada, accusing Ottawa of failing to crack down on fentanyl trafficking and refusing to open its markets to more U.S. goods.
This isn’t the Senate’s first attempt to push back. Back in April, lawmakers narrowly voted to nullify Trump’s 25% fentanyl-related tariff on Canada — a vote that also drew support from four Republicans. The House ignored that resolution, and it’s likely to do the same this time around.
Now, Trump says he plans to raise the tariff another 10%, a move he justified by referencing an Ontario-funded ad that quoted anti-tariff rhetoric from Ronald Reagan. He’s also pointedly refused to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, even as he prepares to sit down with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in South Korea.
That decision didn’t sit well with Democrats. “While he capitulates to Beijing, he’s raising tariffs on Canada. How nonsensical, how stupid, how thoughtless,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York.
This vote is part of a broader Senate effort to force lawmakers to go on record about Trump’s sweeping use of tariff powers. On Tuesday night, senators voted 52-48 to terminate Trump’s authority to impose 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports. Another vote is expected soon to target similar tariffs on other global trading partners.
At the heart of the clash is a bigger constitutional question: does the president actually have the power to impose tariffs unilaterally? That issue is now before the Supreme Court, which is weighing whether Trump lawfully invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — a 1977 law meant for genuine national security crises, not trade disputes.
The White House insists everything is above board. Republican leaders, for the most part, have backed Trump’s aggressive trade tactics, arguing that they’re producing results.
“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,” said Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, who urged a “no” vote on the resolution.
But not everyone in the GOP is buying it. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said the tariffs are hurting ordinary Americans — not helping them. “These tariffs hit families, farmers, and small businesses the hardest, and in Kentucky, they devastate cornerstone industries like car manufacturing, bourbon, homebuilding, and shipping,” Paul said. “Congress must reclaim its constitutional authority and stop this economic overreach before more jobs and industries are destroyed.”
Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, another Kentucky Republican, said tariffs are hammering producers back home. He announced plans to support resolutions terminating tariffs on Brazil, Canada, and other U.S. trading partners.
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined McConnell and Paul in voting to end the Canada tariffs — a rare show of bipartisan defiance.
Whether it changes policy is another story. The House may block the measure, but the Senate vote alone signals something Trump hasn’t faced much of in his second term: a real, public fracture in his own party over the costs of his trade war.
