The US Senate has passed a bill aimed at terminating the new tariffs on Canada imposed by President Donald Trump, with a vote of 51-48.
The bill, sponsored by Democrats, seeks to end the national emergency declared by Trump on January 22, which linked the illegal imports of fentanyl from Mexico, Canada, and China to the imposition of steep new tariffs on Canada.
Four Senate Republicans joined forces with Democrats to advance the bill, despite Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s urging to defeat it, arguing that shifting attention away from Canada would be a step backward.
The measure required at least four Republican votes to pass in the chamber where Trump’s party holds a 53-47 majority.
Trump urged four fellow Republicans – Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitch McConnell, and Rand Paul – to reject the bill in a social media post.
Collins and Paul spoke out against the tariffs, with Collins noting that Trump’s proposed Canadian tariffs would hurt several industries in her home state of Maine.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, the leading sponsor of the tariff-ending bill, highlighted that the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal has dispute-resolution mechanisms that make the imposition of tariffs unnecessary.
The bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives, where it is likely to be shelved.