Trump’s tariffs spark power struggle with Senate

Since President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on Wednesday in a Rose Garden ceremony, the Senate has made two distinct moves to try to curb his power to do so.

On Wednesday night, the Senate passed a resolution 51-48 to revoke Trump’s emergency declaration at the nation’s land borders. Without that declaration, he does not have the power to levy tariffs on Canada and Mexico without congressional approval. Four Republicans joined Democrats to pass the resolution: Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

Then this morning, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced another bill that would make all presidential tariffs void after 60 days unless Congress approved them. It would also require the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing tariffs.

“This is not about clawing back power from President Trump,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. told reporters on Thursday. “This is about clawing back power that should never be conveyed to the [executive] branch over decades.”

Congress passed the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in 1977, which gave the president the power to levy tariffs in emergency situations. Trump invoked that power to declare a border emergency over illegal fentanyl crossing from both Canada and Mexico and then levy 25% tariffs on Feb. 4, with a promise of more. On Feb. 3, both countries promised to do more to stem the flow of opioids across the border, so Trump agreed to a 30-day pause. He briefly allowed the tariffs to take effect in March, with some exceptions, and then added tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.

The Senate resolution passed on Wednesday, sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., would apply only to Trump’s February emergency declaration over the border. It has slim chances of passing the House and even slimmer chances of receiving Trump’s signature.

Canada is one of the nation’s top three trading partners. Montana and Maine rank as the top two states that receive imports from Canada and Mexico. That pushed Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to support Kaine’s resolution.

“Now, I want to distinguish that I think there is a strong case to be made for tariffs on Mexico, on our adversary, China, but I don’t see the case for Canada,” Collins said in a floor speech on Wednesday. She cited her state’s reliance on Canadian heating oil, refined petroleum products, jet fuel, paper mill pulp, and potato fertilizer.

Supporters of the tariffs said the measures would slow down the flow of goods across the border and force Canada to deal with its fentanyl problem. The White House said Customs and Border Protection seized at least 43 pounds of fentanyl at the U.S.-Canada border in the last fiscal year, compared to 275,000 pounds seized at the southern border. The White House said that even the smaller amount shipped in from Canada could kill millions of Americans.

“Evidently, Tim Kaine cares more about Canadian businesses than American citizens who are dying,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, told WORLD. When asked whether tariffs would affect manufacturing in his state, he said, “I’m protecting American citizens who are dying.”

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, an economist and president of the American Action Forum, says that relying on emergencies to impose tariffs is a misuse of the original law.

“Congress has woken up to the fact that they have the constitutional authority to levy tariffs,” Holtz-Eakin told WORLD. “They counted on the executive branch using that power judiciously in genuine emergencies, and what you’re hearing out of this resolution is [that Trump is] misusing the emergency declaration so that he can do injudicious use of the tariffs.”

While Kaine’s resolution only pertains to Trump’s February declaration, Grassley and Cantwell’s bill attempts a broader change. Trump invoked a national emergency again on Wednesday to justify reciprocal tariffs on nearly every foreign trading partner. He said trade deficits cause national security and economic concerns.

“Congress essentially gave blanket authority to the president to use tariffs in response to declared emergencies,” Lydia Newman at the American Institute for Economic Research told WORLD. “It has been long-standing, but the level in which the Trump administration has been using it is definitely something that's a little unprecedented.”

Some Republicans say that Trump is using the power Congress granted and they support the economic effects it will have on trade parity. On Thursday, Wall Street had its worst day since 2020, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1,600 points. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced retaliatory 25% tariffs on certain American vehicles. The United Kingdom today published a 400-page list of products it is also considering for tariffs.

“President Trump said there was going to be a little disruption at first,” Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., told WORLD. “But it’s important to remember that the average weighted tariff we charge other countries is 1½%. The average weighted tariff they charge us is 6%t. That’s four times greater. We need to level the playing field, and ultimately that is going to be better for manufacturing.”

To determine the amount of tariffs on a trade partner’s goods, the Trump administration is using an equation that combines existing tariffs, quantifies any nontrade barriers, and then factors in the existing trade deficit. Then it divides the result in half.

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said that adding tariffs on other countries will boost auto production, especially in his state. “The tariffs are working already,” he told WORLD, citing a Thursday announcement that General Motors would increase truck production in Fort Wayne, Ind. “That’s just the beginning, so I wouldn’t disrupt it. I’m very pleased with the president’s initiatives and I imagine there’s a lot more to come.”

Grassley and other Republicans worry that Trump is creating emergencies to justify tariffs rather than following the original intent of the legislative branch’s authority to regulate commerce.

“Trade wars can be devastating, which is why the Founding Fathers gave Congress the clear constitutional authority over war and trade,” Grassley said. “This bill reasserts Congress’ role over trade policy.”