US lawmakers defy Trump’s threat, approve measure against tariffs on Canada

House rebukes Trump over Canadian tariffs

US House lawmakers on Wednesday voted to reject Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, dismissing the president’s last-minute threat of electoral consequences for Republicans and delivering a rare rebuke of his signature trade policy.

The Democrat-backed measure passed 219-211, with six Republicans joining, but it is largely symbolic.

While the House could pursue measures to end the national emergencies Trump invoked last year to impose broad tariffs on foreign imports, any effort to reverse the duties on Canada or other trading partners would still require Senate approval and the president’s signature. Even if it passed the Senate, Trump would likely veto it, and Congress would struggle to reach the two-thirds majority needed to override.

Trump intervened at the last minute, posting on Truth Social: "Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time."

He added, "TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege."

Wednesday's rebuke comes after the expiration of a measure barring any vote on the issue of tariffs in the chamber -- a move that has stifled opposition to Trump's trade policy.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump ally in Congress, sought to renew this prohibition on Tuesday but was unsuccessful, as three House Republicans voted alongside Democrats to block the move.

Earlier Wednesday, House Republican Don Bacon posted on social media that lawmakers "cannot & should not outsource our responsibilities."

"As an old fashioned Conservative I know tariffs are a tax on American consumers," he added, noting that debates and votes on the issue should occur in the House.

Canada -- like other US trading partners -- has been hit by various waves of Trump's tariffs since he returned to office early last year, tapping emergency economic powers to justify the duties.

Broad exemptions for Canadian goods however have softened the blow.

Trump may have imposed a 35-percent tariff on many Canadian products last year, but he provided lower rates for energy imports and created sweeping exclusions for goods entering under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA).

Trump's separate sector-specific tariffs -- especially on autos, steel and aluminum -- have hit Canada hard.

But overall, more than 85 percent of all bilateral trade has remained tariff-free under USMCA terms.

Trump's country-specific tariffs, justified by emergency economic powers, have faced legal challenges too and the Supreme Court is due to rule on their legality in the near future.

While Trump has repeatedly touted tariffs as a positive development for the country, a Pew Research Center survey released this month indicated that 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump's higher tariffs.