Lunes 22 de septiembre del 2025
Tariffs appeared on the congressional agenda this week, with a group of senators reintroducing legislation to terminate the administration’s novel tariffs on Canada and the House creating a tariff policy working group in the wake of a close vote on possible resolutions of disapproval targeting the new duties.
Senate’s October Vote: Senator Tim Kaine’s September 17 resolution, which passed the Senate in April by a vote of 51-48 before being blocked in the House, has 13 co-sponsors. This includes Republican Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Under the National Emergencies Act, Congress is tasked with reviewing presidential emergencies once every six-month period. This week marks the second six-month period of the emergency in relation to Canada, and thus the resolution is again privileged and will receive a vote (likely in early October). The U.S. Chamber supported the spring resolution.
Drama in the House: Meanwhile, the House again blocked votes on any such resolution of disapproval, including by deciding 213-211 to prevent any votes to end emergencies underlying “reciprocal” tariffs, “fentanyl” tariffs, or the additional tariffs on goods from Brazil. However, the September 17 House vote “nearly went the other way,” reports International Trade Today, which adds:
“The Republicans held the vote open longer than usual, and at one point, six Republicans were voting against this rule change. Because of members’ absences, if one more Republican had voted with all the Democrats, the effort would have failed. Two of the Republicans who switched sides said they did so because the House speaker said he would shorten the number of months that votes will remain blocked, and because the speaker will convene a Republican working group on tariff policy.”
The working group on tariff policy could be led by House Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee Chair Adrian Smith (R-NE), and it may discuss possible measures to modify existing policy and clarify Congress’s role in setting that policy.
