Senator Mitch McConnell was one of four Republicans who voted in favor of the Democrats’ resolution
The United States Senate voted this Thursday to revoke customs tariffs imposed by Donald Trump’s government on traditional partners, as it had already done with Brazil and Canada, and again with the support of four Republicans.
Four Republican senators voted this Thursday with Democrats to approve a bipartisan resolution that revokes global tariffs imposed by President Trump, including higher fees for longtime allies.
According to , the resolution aims to eliminate tariffs applied to imports from countries such as Japan, South Korea and members of the European Union.
The same resolution had failed in the Senate in April, when the vice president JD Vance exercised his vote at the time in the upper house to secure 51 votes out of 100 senators.
In this Thursday’s vote, Republicans Mitch McConnellLisa Murkowski, Susan Collins e Rand Paul voted again with the Democrats approval of the resolution, after having already done so in relation to the Brazil and Canada.
The senator Ron Wydenof Oregon, the resolution’s lead Democratic sponsor, says Trump’s tariffs increased costs for ordinary Americans.
“American families are being squeezed by constantly rising prices. More than three-quarters of families say their monthly expenses increased by more than 100 dollars per month“, said the senator in the plenary. In a statement released at the beginning of the week, McConnell had warned that “tariffs make both construction and purchase of properties more expensive in the USA.”
Voting is mainly symbolicas it will now go to the House of Representatives, the lower house of the North American Congress, where it should have few chances of being approved.
Even if it is approved by Congress, the resolution will be vetoed by Trump.
The result of the vote is a new challenge to Trump’s trade policy. On Wednesday, the upper house had already approved the cancellation of tariffs on Brazil, and, on Tuesday, the repeal of tariffs imposed on imports from Canada by President Trump.
The motion presented by the Democrats was approved by 50 votes against 46.
Although the resolutions do not go into effect, they have proven to be an effective way for Democrats to air their concerns. divergences between trade policy of the President and the senators Republicans who traditionally support free trade.
Second Tim KaineDemocratic senator from Virginia, votes are a way to force a Senate debate on “the economic destruction of tariffs” and a way to show how Republican opposition to Trump’s trade policy is growing.
Donald Trump justified the tariffs on Brazil with the country’s policies and the prcriminal case against former president Jair Bolsonaroyour ally.
In 2025, the US had a trade surplus of 6.8 billion dollars (5.8 billion euros, at the current exchange rate) in customs exchanges with Brazil, according to official statistics.
To promote voting, Kaine invoked a law decades old which allows Congress to block a president’s emergency powers and for members of the minority party to force a vote on resolutions.
The Supreme Court will also soon consider a case challenging the Trump’s authority to implement comprehensive tariffss. Lower courts considered the most of your illegal fares.
Some Republicans therefore stressed that will wait for the outcome this case before voting against the president’s measures.
Kaine also plans to introduce a resolution to put a brake to Trump’s ability to rcarry out military attacks against Venezuelaas the Armed Forces intensify their presence and operations in the Caribbean region.
The Democratic senator from Virginia stressed that this will allow Democrats to get off the defensive while they are in the minority and instead force votes on “points of discomfort” for Republicans.
