Senators Traveling to Ottawa Have Little Power to Change Tariffs
The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, is leading a delegation to Ottawa this weekend. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who led the effort to end 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, and Sens. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., also are going.
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At the Capitol, Kaine said, "I'm doing everything I can to restore sanity [to the trade relationship], which they're aware of."
He added, "We need to demonstrate to them that the American public is still very pro-Canada." He said he also wants Canadians to know that Congress wants a free-trade relationship with Canada.
Cramer, in a separate hallway interview at the Capitol, said that in terms of trade with Canada, "We're for it. I'm for trade, period, and to the degree tariffs are in the way, let's get them out of the way."
Cramer didn't vote for Kaine's resolution to end the emergency underpinning the 25% fentanyl tariffs. It passed the Senate with all Democrats and a handful of Republicans, but House leadership is preventing a vote on a companion measure.
Kaine said he believed Cramer's participation would be "really helpful" and said he hopes that the outcome of the trip will be to "influence the administration to land in a good spot" on the tariffs.
Kaine said the senators will be having dinner with the U.S. ambassador to Canada, and said the ambassador has said "some really positive things, too, recently."
"Canada has taken steps [on fentanyl trafficking], and I think the administration might be willing to acknowledge that. I think they should. We're going to meet with the foreign minister, too. And then we're going to have some meetings with industry leaders, too."
Cramer downplayed his influence to get the administration to end any of the tariffs on Canadian goods, whether it's 25% on non-USMCA-qualifying goods via the fentanyl tariffs, 25% tariffs on imported vehicles that do meet USMCA origin, or 25% tariffs on aluminum that's wholly Canadian.
Cramer said, "I don't speak for the administration, obviously. So this trip, to my mind, is more about starting a relationship with a new leader [in Canada], and demonstrating just some good diplomatic relationships, but also friendship."
Shaheen, who was walking to a vote with Cramer, agreed. "The details of any trade agreements are not up to us. We're there to show commitment to the Canadian-American relationship, that's been so important to both countries for many years."