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The United States House of Representatives has canceled tariffs imposed by American President Donald Trump on Canadian products.
By a vote of 219 to 211, six Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in supporting a resolution to end Trump’s tariffs on Canada last year.
The vote is largely symbolic because it will still need to be approved by the U.S. Senate and then approved by Trump, who is highly unlikely to sign it.
Since his re-election, Donald Trump has imposed a series of tariffs on Canada, recently threatening to 100% import tax in response to Canada’s proposed trade deal with China.
As the vote took place in the House, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Any Republican, in the House or Senate, who votes against TARIFFS will face serious consequences come election time. »
“TARIFFS have brought us economic and national security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying that privilege,” he added.
The vote came after House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump ally in Congress, unsuccessfully tried to block discussions in the chamber by lawmakers about Trump’s tariffs.
While Republicans hold a slim majority in the House of Representatives, the six Republican defections along with the Democrats’ nearly united front were enough to secure the votes.
The measure was introduced by Democrat Gregory Meeks, who said Trump had “used tariffs as a weapon” against his allies and destabilized the global economy.
“Not only have these tariffs caused immense harm to our relationship with Canada, bringing it closer to China, but they have also driven up prices here at home,” he said before the vote.
Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska was one of six Republicans who crossed the aisle to join Democrats in endorsing the measure. Before the vote, he said the tariffs have been ‘net negative’ for the economy and are a significant tax that American consumers, manufacturers and farmers pay.
The bill now heads to the US Senate, where Republicans also hold a majority. Even if it overcomes this hurdle, it is unlikely to be signed into law.
Meeks, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Canada measure was the first in a series of bills he plans to introduce in an effort to roll back the Trump trade action.
“Our fight does not end here,” he said in a video posted online before the vote. “I also have resolutions to end Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, on Brazil and the global Liberation Day tariffs.”