Bills to Cancel Emergencies Justifying Tariffs

President Donald Trump’s national emergency declarations to justify duties on Canada and Brazil as well as sweeping global tariffs would be terminated under S. J. Res. 77, S. J. Res. 81, and S. J. Res. 88, respectively.

Canada Tariffs: S. J. Res. 77 would block Trump’s Feb. 1 order that imposed a 25% tariff on most Canadian products. The order said Canada failed to sufficiently respond to, or coordinate with the US to rein in, the flow of illegal drugs over the northern border, constituting a national emergency. (Voice Your Opinion)

Trump later raised the rate to 35% on Aug. 1 for all imports not exempted from tariffs by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, while holding the rate on Canadian energy products and potash at 10%.

Trump announced an additional 10% in tariffs on Canada Oct. 25, citing an anti-tariff advertising campaign launched by the government of Ontario.

Brazil Tariffs: S. J. Res. 81 would block Trump’s July 30 order that imposed 40% tariffs on certain products from Brazil, which are among the highest the US has imposed on any country. The order said members of Brazil’s government have taken actions that threaten the US economy, free speech, and human rights, including by compelling online platforms to censor accounts of US individuals.

Trump also cited the country’s alleged persecution of ally and former President Jair Bolsonaro for the tariffs. Bolsonaro earlier this year was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for plotting to stay in power after losing the national election in 2022. (Voice Your Opinion)

The Brazil tariffs were stacked on top of the global 10% duties that included Brazil, though Trump’s July order spared key imports, such as civilian airplanes and fruit juice.

Global Tariffs: S. J. Res. 88 would block Trump’s April 2 executive order that levied a 10% blanket tariff on goods from more than 180 countries, known as reciprocal tariffs. He said the US’s large and persistent trade deficits with other countries constituted an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security and the economy, which served as the basis for the national emergency declaration.

Dozens of key trading partners such as the European Union, Taiwan, Japan, and China were dealt additional higher duties under the reciprocal tariffs order, though some have been scaled back under subsequent trade agreements. Trump also lowered tariffs on China until Nov. 10, include separate tariffs under a Feb. 1 emergency declaration on fentanyl.

Canada and Mexico — the US’s top trading partners — were exempted from the reciprocal tariffs because they are subject to duties related to separate emergency declarations.

“Trump is driving our economy into a recession, killing farming and ranching jobs and bankrupting small businesses with his reckless global tariffs,” Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-OR), who sponsored S. J. Res. 88, said in an Oct. 9 statement.

Sen. Rand Paul (KY), the only Republican to cosponsor all three measures, said in the statement that the tariffs “don’t just fail on economics, they fail on the Constitution and must be reversed.”

Tariffs Authority

The Constitution authorizes Congress to levy tariffs, but lawmakers have since delegated much of the power to the president. The 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act gives the president authority to regulate or ban imports and other foreign transactions during national emergencies, which the president is allowed to declare. Trump invokes this law, among others, in his executive orders.

A dispute over the constitutionality of Trump’s ability to invoke IEEPA to impose tariffs is currently before the Supreme Court, which said it would hear arguments on an expedited basis in early November.

The resolutions to block Trump’s orders use authorities under the 1976 National Emergencies Act, which allows Congress to end emergency declarations through a joint resolution enacted into law. While both chambers can pass them with simple majorities, two-thirds of those present are required to override the president’s expected veto.

Committees are required to report a termination resolution within 15 calendar days of its introduction, or the resolution is automatically discharged, according to the Congressional Research Service. The law also requires a floor vote no later than three days after a measure comes out of committee.

The 1976 law directed Congress to meet every six months to review national emergencies, though this hasn’t happened in practice. Lawmakers have tapped into the procedures and force a vote every six months on the same emergency.

Congress successfully used the authority in April 2023 to terminate the Covid-19 emergency declared in 2020. Democrats also passed two resolutions that would have overturned Trump’s 2019 declaration of an emergency on the border, both of which he vetoed.

Previous Action

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced S. J. Res. 77, to terminate the Canada emergency justification, on Sept. 16. It had 15 cosponsors as of Oct. 23, including three Republicans: Sens. Paul, Susan Collins (Maine), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).

The Senate passed an identical resolution (S. J. Res. 37) in April by a 51-48 vote. The three Republican cosponsors and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) supported it. The House hasn’t considered the measure.

Kaine introduced S. J. Res. 81, to terminate the Brazil emergency justification, on Sept. 18. Paul and eight members of the Democratic caucus were cosponsors as of Oct. 23.

Wyden introduced S. J. Res. 88, to block the global tariffs, on Oct. 7. The measure had six cosponsors as of Oct. 23, including Paul and five Democrats.

The Senate rejected an identical Wyden measure (S. J. Res. 49) by a 49-49 vote in April. Paul, Collins, and Murkowski were the only Republicans to support that measure.

All three of the latest measures were referred to the Senate Finance Committee, which hasn’t acted on them.

Prospects

The Senate agreed to vote and hold as long as six hours of debate on each measure by Oct. 31.

Even if the Senate passes them, the House adopted language temporarily turning off expedited procedures for measures to unwind emergencies declared by the president through Jan. 31.

Trump also would likely veto the resolutions, which would require two-thirds majorities to override.