The US Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night that would thwart President Donald Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada, delivering him a rare rebuke just hours after the president unveiled sweeping plans to clamp down on international trade??
The vote is the most significant Republican rebuke of the Trump administration’s second term, with four prominent Republicans breaking rank
apple.news
The Senate resolution, passed by a 51-48 vote tally, would end Trump’s emergency declaration on fentanyl that underpins tariffs on Canada.
Trump earlier Wednesday announced orders — his so-called “Liberation Day” — to impose import taxes on a slew of international trading partners, though Canadian imports for now were spared from new taxes.
The Senate’s legislation ultimately has little chance of passing the Republican-controlled House and being signed by Trump (???), but it showed the limits of Republican support for Trump’s vision of remaking the U.S. economy by restricting free trade.
Jean Charest, the former Quebec premier who sits on the prime minister’s Canada-U.S. advisory council, said Canada got “different treatment” from Europe but it didn’t get “special treatment.” (???)
The White House kept existing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, and will maintain tariffs — justified under Trump's alleged border emergency — against Canadian goods that aren't compliant with the existing North American trade deal that sets rules about limiting foreign content. Under that order, non-compliant goods were hit with 25 per cent import taxes and non-compliant energy and potash with 10 per cent tariffs.
He is encouraged Trump says he will act under legislation that must go to Congress, which Charest says gives Canada the chance to deploy its arguments with elected representatives and senators. “It’s good news for us because then we have a much broader audience with whom we can engage directly and on a local level on all the issues that we care about."
Still, Charest warned Canada has not escaped lightly, and more pain is to come with threatened tariffs on lumber, semiconductor chips and pharmaceuticals.
“It's fascinating to watch the reactions, you know ‘Hey, we got kicked in the ass on the aluminum and steel and cars, boy are we ever feeling good.’ We are literally suffering from a Stockholm syndrome” in the face of Trump who is creating chaos and uncertainty, he said. Yeehaw…
Carney, he predicted, will take his time to roll out a measured response. “We can't go dollar for dollar, and we're going to continue to say, and should continue to, say we'll keep everything on the table.”
But in the end, he said, Canada is in a “terrible” bind. “They hurt us and we're going to hurt ourselves to hurt them. It's a world of bad choices and making the choice that's least damaging is where we are.”
Trump's punishing 25 per cent auto tariffs take effect at midnight. Meanwhile, tariffs remain on Canadian goods not covered by CUSMA.
apple.news
vancouver.citynews.ca
