By johnquick 
The US Senate on Wednesday approved a pair of resolutions to block President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Brazil, a challenge to the president’s trade authority.
The votes, which challenge Trump’s use of emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, were largely symbolic because the measure must pass the Republican-controlled House.
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Susan Collins of Maine, joined Democrats in a vote to end the national emergency declaration that justified the tariffs on Canada. The move followed Tuesday’s Senate vote to end Trump’s 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports, when five GOP senators broke ranks.
The resolutions do not automatically lift the tariffs. GOP leaders in the House have adopted rules preventing such measures from reaching the floor.
Even if passed, Trump would almost certainly veto them, and overriding a veto would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers, a near impossibility given current makeup of the chambers.
Democrats used IEEPA’s built-in “privileged resolution” process to force the votes, bypassing Senate filibusters and leadership holds.
A related Supreme Court case examining Trump’s use of IEEPA to impose tariffs could ultimately decide whether these actions were constitutional. Until the court rules, the tariffs remain in effect.
The 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports -including coffee, beef, and soybeans – and escalating duties on Canadian goods remain unchanged. The Canada tariffs, initially tied to fentanyl trafficking concerns, were recently increased by 10% following a Canadian government ad criticizing Trump’s trade policies.
Suzanne Downing
The court case challenging the President’s “emergency” authority to set tariffs is warranted. Given that tariffs are much like taxes, it is too much, at least for me, to have rates set by one person, mostly on a whim. Side-boards are needed.