The U.S. Senate has passed a bipartisan resolution today that would have the effect of ending the global tariffs President Trump enacted in April, including tariffs on imported games and toys, according to The Hill. The Senate voted to end the “emergency” Trump declared as the legal rationale for the tariffs as of the day they were enacted. Four Republican senators, Sens. Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted with Democrats to pass the bill. Earlier this week the Senate voted to terminate the tariffs on Canada and Brazil.
The bills are unlikely to be enacted into law any time soon, as Speaker Johnson has the House of Representatives on extended hiatus, and President Trump would presumably veto it if it passed both houses of Congress.
The significance of the vote may lie in expressing the will of Congress as the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments next week on Administration appeals of lower court rulings that held that Trump did not have the right to enact tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as he claimed (see “Court to Hear Expedited Arguments“). It may be tougher for the Supremes to rule that Congress intended to give the President that power if it recently passed a law opposing its use in that way.
There is no set date for the Court to rule on the appeals once it hears oral arguments, although with an expedited hearing schedule we can hope it will be soon.
Source: ICv2
