US House backs bid to block Canada tariffs in rebuke of Trump | Trump tariffs

The US House on Wednesday voted to rescind tariffs that Donald Trump imposed on Canada last year, a rare bipartisan rebuke of the White House’s trade policy as the president threatened electoral retaliation against any Republican who defied him.

The largely symbolic resolution to disapprove of the national emergency Trump declared to impose tariffs on Canada passed 219 to 211, with six Republicans – Don Bacon of Nebraska, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Kevin Kiley of California, Dan Newhouse of Washington and Jeff Hurd of Colorado – voting with all Democrats except Jared Golden of Maine, who voted against it.

“Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!” Trump wrote on Truth Social before the vote was finalized, adding: “TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege.”

Undoing Trump’s tariff policy would ultimately require his approval, which was unlikely. On Wednesday, he warned Republicans against voting for the resolution, which GOP leaders had worked to forestall.

“Canada has taken advantage of the United States on Trade for many years,” Trump wrote in a separate post. “They are among the worst in the World to deal with, especially as it relates to our Northern Border. TARIFFS make a WIN for us, EASY. Republicans must keep it that way!”

The measure next goes to the Senate.

Trump believes in the power of tariffs to force trading partners to the negotiating table. But US lawmakers are facing unrest from businesses caught in the trade wars and constituents navigating pocketbook issues and high prices.

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump’s tariffs were “causing prices to skyrocket and creating unnecessary uncertainty for American families”.

“For months, sycophantic Republicans in the House have tried to block us from acting on behalf of the American people,” Jeffries said in a statement after the resolution was approved. “Today, House Democrats forced a successful vote to detonate the Trump tariffs on Canada.”

The high-stakes moment provides a snapshot of the House’s unease with the president’s direction, especially ahead of the midterm elections as economic issues resonate among voters. The Senate has already voted to reject Trump’s tariffs on Canada and other countries in a show of displeasure. But both chambers would have to approve the tariff rollbacks, and send the resolution to Trump for the president’s signature – or veto.

Trump recently threatened to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada over that country’s proposed China trade deal, intensifying a feud with the longtime US ally and PM Mark Carney.

House speaker Mike Johnson tried to prevent the showdown.

Johnson insisted lawmakers wait for a pending supreme court ruling in a lawsuit about the tariffs. He engineered a complicated rules change to prevent floor action. But Johnson’s strategy collapsed late on Tuesday, as Republicans peeled off during a procedural vote to ensure the Democratic measure was able to advance.

“The president’s trade policies have been of great benefit,” Johnson had said. “And I think the sentiment is that we allow a little more runway for this to be worked out between the executive branch and the judicial branch.”

Late Tuesday evening, Johnson could be seen speaking to holdout Republican lawmakers as the GOP leadership team struggled to shore up support during a lengthy procedural vote, but the numbers lined up against him.

“We’re disappointed in what the people have done,” Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House’s national economic council, told reporters at the White House on Wednesday morning. “The president will make sure they don’t repeal his tariffs.”

The resolution put forward by Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House foreign affairs committee, would terminate the national emergency that Trump declared a year ago as one of his executive orders.

The administration claimed illicit drug flow from Canada constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat that allows the president to slap on tariffs on imported goods outside the terms of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

The Republican chair of the House foreign affairs committee, Brian Mast of Florida, said the drug flow of fentanyl into the US is a dire national emergency and the policy must be left in place.

“Let’s be clear again about what this resolution is and what it’s not. It’s not a debate about tariffs. You can talk about those, but that’s not really what it is,” Mast said. “This is Democrats trying to ignore that there is a fentanyl crisis.”

Experts say fentanyl produced by cartels in Mexico is largely smuggled into the US from land crossings in California and Arizona. Fentanyl is also made in Canada and smuggled into the US, but to a much lesser extent.

Ahead of voting, some rank-and-file Republican lawmakers expressed unease over the choices ahead as Democrats – and a few renegade Republicans – impressed on their colleagues the need to flex their power as the legislative branch rather than ceding so much power to the president to take authority over trade and tariff policy.

Don Bacon of Nebraska said he was unpersuaded by Johnson’s call to wait until the supreme court makes its decision about the legality of Trump’s tariffs.

“Why doesn’t the Congress stand on its own two feet and say that we’re an independent branch?” Bacon said. “We should defend our authorities. I hope the supreme court does, but if we don’t do it, shame on us.”

Bacon, who is retiring rather than facing re-election, also argued that tariffs are bad economic policy.

Other Republicans said they were still making up their minds after Johnson’s gambit – which would have paused the calendar days to prevent the measure from coming forward – was turned back.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to have to support our president,” said Keith Self of Texas.

Darrell Issa, a California Republican, said he did not want to tie the president’s hands on trade and is ready to support the tariffs on Canada “at this time”.