 "President Donald Trump unveiled reciprocal tariffs on April 2. He has dubbed the day 'Liberation Day' and has reiterated that it will help America. AP")
4 Republican senators supported Democrats to vote on a resolution to undo US President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports on Wednesday. However, the resolution just expresses the US Senate’s stance on the matter and does not have the force of law. The resolution passed with 51-48 votes in favour and came shortly before Trump announced sweeping tariffs on several nations around the world.
Four Republicans who supported Democrats during the voting were Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.). All the senators voted to express their disapproval of Trump’s tariffs on Canada a few hours after the president announced he would impose a 10 per cent tariff on all imports and levy even higher rates on imports from the European Union, China, Vietnam and Japan.
While speaking to the reporters after the voting, Collins said that she had serious concerns about Trump’s decision to slap high tariffs on neighbouring nations. “In general, one of my biggest concerns is we should be distinguishing between allies and our adversaries and not treating them the same way,” she said.
GOP senators thought about their states
McConnell made a similar assertion to what Collins said after casting his vote. “With so much at stake globally, the last thing we need is to pick fights with the very friends with whom we should be working to protect against China’s predatory and unfair trade practices,” he said in a statement.
Murkowski stated that she did “what I needed to do for Alaska.” She insisted that her constituents were worried about what Trump’s tariffs “are going to mean for price increases.” Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune urged Republicans to vote against the resolution, advising them it was a political gambit by Democrats to embarrass Trump.
While addressing the Senate floor, Thune argued that the tariff against Canada is necessary to leverage to push Canadian authorities to crack down on drug smuggling across the northern border. “I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution and ensure that President Trump has the tools that he needs to combat the flow of fentanyl from all directions,” he said, insisting that the fentanyl crisis warrants “an aggressive response.”