The measure, supported by Democrats and GOP Sen. Rand Paul, failed in a tie vote.
WASHINGTON—The Senate rejected a resolution on April 30 to nullify President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariffs on most countries. The measure failed with a tie vote of 49-49.
While Trump has since suspended most of the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, with China being a notable exception, he left in place a 10 percent tariff on these countries in accordance with the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows the president to unilaterally enact tariffs for national security reasons. The resolution sought to undo the 10 percent tariffs.
The resolution was supported by Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
The White House has said Trump would veto the measure, which was introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), if it came to his desk.
“This resolution would undermine the Administration’s efforts to address the unusual and extraordinary threats to national security and economic stability, posed by the conditions reflected in the large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficit,” the White House said in an April 28 statement of administration policy.
The administration said the United States faces an annual $1.2 trillion trade deficit—the biggest in U.S. history.
“This has gutted the American industrial base, jeopardized our national security, suppressed wages for U.S. workers, and decimated communities throughout the United States,” the administration said. “The president exercised his authority to impose reciprocal tariffs to rectify the conditions that gave rise to this threat to U.S. national and economic security.”
“This resolution would signal that the United States is not serious about addressing structural imbalances in the global economy and the conditions giving rise to the threat to the United States’ national security and economy.”
The 90-day pause of the reciprocal tariffs occurred after more than 75 countries reached out to the administration looking to make a bilateral trade deal.
The Senate earlier this month passed a disapproval resolution, 51-48, to cancel Trump’s tariffs on Canada as four Republicans joined all Democrats in voting for it. The House is not expected to take up the measure.
Trump criticized the resolution.
“They are playing with the lives of the American people, and right into the hands of the radical left Democrats and drug cartels,” he posted on Truth Social. “The Senate bill is just a ploy of the Dems to show and expose the weakness of certain Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters on April 29 said most fellow Republicans are patient with the ongoing trade negotiations.
“We’ll see. I think most of our members are of the mind that the administration’s close to getting some deals, they want to give them some time to do that [and] put some wins on the board,” Thune said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on April 30 that Trump deserves some room when it comes to the tariffs. He did not rule out the possibility of Congress stepping in.
When it comes to trade, he said at an event hosted by the media outlet Axios, “I think the executive has a broad array of authority that’s been recognized over the years.
“If it gets close to where the imbalance is, then we would step in.”