Kaine: Votes on Canada, Brazil Tariffs to Come in Early October
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said there will be votes in the Senate in early October to end emergencies that underlie tariffs on Canada and Brazil.
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The Senate previously voted to end the Canada emergency, but the House didn't vote. Even though a majority of senators voted to end the Canada tariffs, the tally was not close to a veto-proof majority, which is what would be needed to stop the tariffs.
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, the law used to impose these tariffs, requires a vote in Congress on whether the emergency should be terminated if any member requests one. That vote must be held within 18 days.
Kaine, in a hallway interview at the Capitol with an International Trade Today reporter on Sept. 17, said, "I filed [the] Canada [challenge] yesterday, and I thought, I will file Brazil tomorrow. So they will ripen two days apart, likely right after the beginning of the month. And then, sometime in October, I will file the challenge to global Liberation Day tariffs."
Once a vote is held on the emergency, those asking for it must wait six months for the next request.
Kaine said he wouldn't introduce a resolution to rescind the Mexico emergency. "Even though I think tariffs may not be the best action to take, I do not deny that there is an emergency with respect to fentanyl from Mexico and China," he said. "There's not an emergency with respect to fentanyl from Canada, there's not an emergency with respect to Brazil because the country is prosecuting a friend of Donald Trump's."
Trump raised tariffs on some Brazilian goods from 10% to 50% because of the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, for leading a conspiracy to stay in power after he lost re-election. Bolsonaro was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Trump's executive order also said Brazil should face higher tariffs because of restrictions on American social media companies operating in Brazil.
Kaine said he wouldn't stop pushing for these votes, even though the House just voted to block votes in that chamber by declaring that there are no calendar days passing.
"I don't worry about the House, I work with the Senate, and every senator should be on the record about whether they support Trump's economic issues, or whether they support their constituents. I know what Virginians are telling me about the tariffs; jacking up the prices for food, furniture, clothes, electronic goods, that they're leading to retaliation that is hurting their businesses, that some of the tariffs are hurting the possible inputs that they use in their businesses, like fertilizer, and that they think it's a horrible idea. So I'm assuming and believe strongly all my colleagues are hearing the same thing," Kaine said. "So this House can do what it wants to do, but senators have to declare on a vote like this, whether they're in support of this foolishness or not."