U.S. House poised to vote against Trump’s tariffs on Canada

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a resolution opposing President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, with indications that enough Republicans may join Democrats to pass the measure.

Resolution Targets Trump’s Tariff Justification

The resolution, introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York, aims to terminate the national emergency Trump declared in February 2025, which he used to justify tariffs on a variety of imports from Canada.

Trump’s emergency declaration asserted that Canada’s handling of cross-border drug trafficking posed an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security. This declaration currently supports 35 percent tariffs on Canadian goods not covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Congress possesses the authority to review presidential declarations of emergencies.

Even if the resolution passes both the House and Senate, Trump retains veto power. However, a House vote against the tariffs would represent a significant political setback for the president, who has prioritized tariffs as a central economic policy during his second term.

The resolution has been under development since March of last year, but Wednesday marks the first opportunity for a House vote, as Republican leadership had previously blocked it.

The effort to block the vote ended Tuesday. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, had attempted to use a procedural maneuver to prevent debate on tariffs imposed through presidential emergency declarations until the end of July.

However, three Republicans joined with all Democratic representatives to defeat the rule 217-214, paving the way for Wednesday’s vote on the tariffs against Canada.

Republican Concerns Over Economic Impact

“Congress needs to be able to ​debate on tariffs,” stated Nebraska’s Don Bacon, one of the Republicans who opposed his party’s leadership, in a social media post. “Tariffs have been a ‘net negative’ for the economy and are a significant tax that American consumers, manufacturers, and farmers are paying.”

Similar Democratic-led attempts to pass resolutions against the tariffs succeeded in the Senate last year, with several Republican senators voting against Trump’s policies. However, the Republican leadership in the House previously prevented those resolutions from advancing.

The fate of all tariffs Trump has imposed based on national emergencies also hinges on a pending Supreme Court decision. The court heard arguments in the case in early November, and a ruling is expected as early as Feb. 20.