US Senate Votes To Nullify 'Reciprocal' Tariffs Imposed By Trump On Countries

The US Senate on Thursday voted to nullify the “reciprocal” tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on more than 100 countries.

According to The Guardian, four Republicans – senators Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – joined the Democrats to vote 51-47 on a resolution to end the base-level tariffs that the President put into place via executive order.

This was the third time the Republicans joined the Democrats to vote against the tariff resolution this week, previously against tariffs targeting Brazil and Canada.

Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, said: “I did learn in the first Trump term that the president is responsive to things like this. When he sees Republicans starting

to vote against his policies, even in small numbers, that makes an impression on him and can often cause him to alter his behaviour.”

Senator Ron Wyden, the lead Democratic sponsor of the resolution, said Trump’s tariffs have increased costs for ordinary Americans.

“American families are being squeezed by prices going up and up and up. More than three-quarters of families say their monthly expenses have increased by more than $100 a month,” he said on the floor.

Senator Susan Collins, who represents Maine, a state bordering Canada, has repeatedly warned that the tariffs would hurt her state’s economy. “The Maine economy is integrated with Canada, our most important trading partner,” she said in an earlier statement, adding that tariffs on petroleum products, paper mills, forest industries, and fisheries would be detrimental to many Maine families and local economies.”

However, despite the opposition in the Senate, the House is unlikely to take any similar action as House Republicans created a rule earlier this year that will block resolutions on the tariffs from getting a floor vote, The Guardian reported.

According to The Hill, the same proposal failed in the Senate in late April on a 50-49 vote after Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote to defeat it.

This comes as Trump wrapped up his trip to Asia during which he struck a deal with China to lower tariffs on Chinese goods into the country and get China to buy up US soybeans.