U.S. House adopts resolution to repeal Canada tariffs, checking Trump’s tariff blitz [Lee Sang-eun’s Washington Now]

A backlash is spreading within the U.S. Congress against the tariff policy that has become a trademark of President Donald Trump. With concerns mounting that tariffs will push up prices and that excessive pressure on allies will provoke blowback, the number of Republican defections is growing, and resolutions calling for the tariff policy to be rolled back are passing one after another on Capitol Hill. With the midterm elections approaching, it is increasingly evident that lawmakers who are sensitive to public opinion are becoming more reluctant to act as rubber stamps for the president.

Even if a resolution passes both chambers, Trump can nullify it by exercising his veto, but many observers say his leadership has already weakened compared with the early days of his administration.

Trump threatens “serious consequences”

The U.S. House on the 11th (local time) passed a resolution to revoke Trump’s 25% tariff on Canada. With six Republicans joining a Democratic-sponsored measure, it passed 219-211. The House currently consists of 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats.

Previously, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Canada—a party to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)—citing fentanyl and border security. By exempting USMCA-covered goods, the effective tariff rate fell somewhat, but Trump has repeatedly threatened to levy higher tariffs on Canada on various pretexts.

Rep. Thomas Massie (Kentucky), who has openly challenged Trump several times, along with Reps. Kevin Kiley (California), Don Bacon (Nebraska), Dan Newhouse (Washington), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania) and Jeff Hurd (Colorado), broke with the Republican line. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Jared Golden (Maine) voted against the resolution.

Trump immediately pushed back. On social media, he wrote that any Republican lawmakers opposing tariffs, whether in the House or Senate, would “pay a serious price” when election season arrives, adding that “this includes primaries.” It was a warning that winning would be difficult without his backing.

Presidential veto likely

House passage alone does not give the resolution legal force. It must pass both the Senate and the House, and then be signed by the president to take effect. However, the Senate has already passed similar resolutions several times last year. In particular, in October it approved a series of resolutions to revoke tariffs on Canada and Brazil, as well as a universal baseline tariff.

What had defended against the Senate’s critical stance on tariffs was the House, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump loyalist. He dragged out the process by refusing to bring the Senate’s resolutions to a vote.

But as dissatisfaction within the Republican Party over Trump’s tariff policy continued to build and defections reached six, such a holding strategy became untenable. Republican leaders brought to the floor a bill that would effectively block votes on tariff resolutions for several months in order to protect Trump’s tariff policy, but it failed to secure a majority after three defections.

If the resolution passes both chambers, the final hurdle is the president’s signature. If Trump signs it, the resolution would be implemented and the tariff measures on Canada would lose their basis. But Trump is widely expected to veto such a resolution. After its passage, Speaker Johnson said Trump “understands the situation,” adding that the tariff “policy will not change or be affected” and that the president would veto it. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in each chamber, but securing 290 votes in the House and 67 in the Senate is close to impossible under the current arithmetic.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Rep. Bacon told reporters that he “voted on principle,” adding that there were “sweet offers” to Nebraska (an attempted inducement), but he responded that “this is not Nebraska’s issue.”

Democrats plan to bring additional resolutions to a vote in the coming weeks, including one to revoke tariffs on Brazil. Minority-party lawmakers typically cannot force floor votes, WSJ explained, but this is possible thanks to a special provision in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) that the Trump administration invoked for its tariff policy.

The mood in Congress is not broadly one of outright rebellion against Trump. The House on the same day passed a Republican bill (SAVE) by 218 votes that would tighten verification of voter rolls and abolish mail registration, allowing the federal government broader involvement across the election process. In the Senate, however, Democrats could block the bill’s passage by using a filibuster.

Washington=Correspondent Lee Sang-eun selee@hankyung.com