In a striking display of bipartisan cooperation, a group of U.S. senators—Democrats Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, joined by Republican Rand Paul—have teamed up with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Amy Klobuchar to push for the repeal of tariffs imposed on Canada and Brazil during Donald Trump’s presidency. Their renewed legislative effort, announced on September 17, 2025, comes as the economic fallout from these tariffs becomes increasingly difficult to ignore, with American industries and communities feeling the pinch from both sides of the border.
According to Augusta Free Press, U.S. distillery exports to Canada have plummeted by a staggering 62 percent since the spring of 2025. The pain isn’t limited to bourbon and whiskey makers—Canadian tourism to the United States has dropped 33.9 percent this year, hitting coastal resorts and destinations like Las Vegas especially hard. "It is time to end President Trump’s senseless trade war with Canada, one of our closest allies and top trading partners," Kaine asserted, highlighting the widespread economic damage and the strain on the historically friendly U.S.-Canada relationship.
The push to undo the tariffs is not new. Back in April, the Senate narrowly passed a resolution to revoke Trump’s Canadian tariffs by a 51-48 margin, with four Republicans breaking ranks to side with Democrats. But the measure stalled in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has consistently blocked it from reaching the floor. As Kaine put it, "It is our responsibility as Congress to step in when the president abuses their authority. If the Senate once again passes a resolution to terminate this misguided trade war, the House should join us and say enough is enough."
Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator known for his libertarian-leaning rhetoric, has emerged as a vocal critic of the tariffs—though, as he candidly admitted, his motivation is far from abstract. "These tariffs hit families, farmers, and small businesses the hardest, and in Kentucky they devastate cornerstone industries like car manufacturing, bourbon, homebuilding and shipping," Paul said, underscoring the local economic pain. He urged Congress to "reclaim its constitutional authority and stop this economic overreach before more jobs and industries are destroyed."
Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, has lambasted the tariffs for driving up consumer prices and stifling small businesses. "His tariff tax has been felt on everything from groceries to new clothes. The tariffs and threats of economic instability have driven up prices, collapsed tourism, and stunted small businesses," Schumer said, painting a picture of broad-based economic harm that, in his view, demands urgent legislative correction.
Yet, despite the mounting evidence of harm and the rare show of bipartisan resolve in the Senate, the House has proven a stubborn roadblock. As reported by The New York Times, House Republicans not only defeated a recent Democratic measure to block tariffs on Brazil, but also moved to relinquish Congress’s power to challenge Trump’s tariffs until March 31, 2026. By tucking a provision into a routine procedural measure, the House GOP effectively ceded its constitutional authority over tariffs to the executive branch—at least for now—ensuring that any Senate action remains largely symbolic.
This dynamic has not gone unnoticed by legal observers and political analysts. A federal appeals court recently ruled that Trump had misused his authority when imposing the tariffs, not because tariffs themselves are inherently unlawful, but because the White House failed to follow the proper legal process—which, according to the U.S. Constitution, requires Congressional approval. As the court’s decision made clear, Congress, not the president, holds the ultimate authority over trade policy. Yet, as the Times observed, Republican lawmakers have been all too willing to surrender that power, preferring to avoid politically fraught votes that might put them at odds with Trump or their party’s base.
Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tried to push back by introducing a measure to block the administration’s controversial tariffs on Brazil. GOP members, however, quickly defeated the effort and doubled down by making future challenges even more difficult. After the vote, Speaker Mike Johnson offered a cryptic reassurance, saying lawmakers would exercise their authority "when appropriate," but did not elaborate further.
The underlying stakes are considerable. The Congressional Budget Office, in a nonpartisan analysis released last week, warned that Trump’s tariff policies are among several factors expected to raise jobless rates, increase inflation, and dampen economic growth in 2025. The tariffs on Brazil, for instance—set at a punishing 50 percent—target products like oil, orange juice, coffee, iron, and steel. The U.S. enjoyed a $6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil in 2024, according to Census Bureau data, but that balance is now at risk.
For Kaine and his allies, the fight is not just about economics, but about restoring constitutional checks and balances. By invoking a decades-old law that allows Congress to block a president’s emergency powers, they aim to force votes on Trump’s tariff-related declarations every six months—whether or not the House is willing to play ball. "Republicans can vote with your constituents or vote with President Trump," Kaine challenged, noting that while many GOP senators have privately expressed concerns about the tariffs, public votes put them on the record. "Over time, the instability is creating huge concerns."
Some Republicans, especially from farm states and regions dependent on Canadian trade, have voiced similar anxieties. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, for example, has acknowledged the negative impact on businesses, even as he maintains that the president deserves time to negotiate new deals. "I think everybody kind of knows my views on tariffs, but the fact of the matter is, the president ran on this," Thune remarked earlier this year.
The political calculus is complicated by Trump’s continued influence within the Republican Party. When four GOP senators—Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, and Rand Paul—joined Democrats to oppose the Canadian tariffs in April, Trump lashed out on social media, urging them to "get on the Republican bandwagon." The pressure to conform remains intense, especially as the 2026 midterm elections loom.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are not letting up. As reported by The Loadstar Podcast, Schumer and his colleagues are pushing additional legislation to shield small businesses from the lingering effects of Trump-era trade reforms. Kaine, for his part, has pledged to reintroduce measures to end the tariffs every six months until the policy is changed, determined to keep the issue alive—and the pressure on—regardless of short-term setbacks.
For now, the future of U.S. trade policy hangs in the balance, caught between the Senate’s push for accountability and the House’s reluctance to challenge the executive. What is clear, however, is that the economic and constitutional stakes are only growing—and that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are being forced to reckon with the consequences of inaction.
