The United States House of Representatives has advanced a bill that would roll back President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a signal of growing willingness among Republicans to break with his administration.

Wednesday’s vote saw several Republicans cross party lines to vote with Democrats.

The final tally saw 219 votes in favour of ending Trump’s use of emergency powers to slap tariffs on Canada. A minority, comprised of 211 representatives, voted against the bill.

It was a rare rebuke from Congress’s lower chamber, where the Republican Party holds a 218-seat majority.

Before the vote, Democrats challenged their Republican colleagues to defy Trump, who has come to dominate the party.

“Today’s vote is simple, very simple: Will you vote to lower the cost of living for the American family or will you keep prices high out of loyalty to one person, Donald J Trump?” said Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, who authored the resolution.

The vote comes as the US enters its pivotal midterm election season. Primaries begin in March, and the general election unfolds in November.

All members of the House of Representatives will be on the ballot in their respective districts.

Faced with Trump’s drooping approval rating, Republican representatives have faced the uncomfortable choice of either bucking his less-popular policies or remaining steadfast, despite possible blowback at the ballot box.

Trump, meanwhile, threatened to derail the election prospects of any Republican who voted in favour of Wednesday’s bill.

“Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries,” Trump wrote on social media in the lead-up to the vote.

He also accused Canada – one of the US’s biggest trading partners and closest allies – of mistreating its southern neighbour.

“Canada has taken advantage of the United States on Trade for many years,” Trump said in a second post.

“They are among the worst in the World to deal with, especially as it relates to our Northern Border. TARIFFS make a WIN for us, EASY. Republicans must keep it that way!”

Wednesday’s bill now heads to the US Senate, where it is likely to pass.

That chamber had already passed similar legislation designed to curtail Trump’s Canada tariff, first in April and later in October of last year.

But the legislation is unlikely to become law. Even if it passes the Senate, Trump is poised to veto the bill.

Congress needs a two-thirds majority in each chamber to overcome a presidential veto. That would require substantial Republican defections, more than what happened during Wednesday’s vote.

Still, polls have shown that Trump’s tariffs are largely unpopular with voters, who blame them in part for rising prices on a bevy of goods.

On February 4, for instance, the Pew Research Center found that 60 percent of respondents disapprove of Trump increasing tariffs. Only 37 percent said they approved.

Democrats hope that the growing dissatisfaction, along with anger over Trump’s aggressive mass deportation raids, will help them end Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.

Currently, the Supreme Court is also weighing the legality of Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs, after the president faced defeat in lower-court rulings.

Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson had urged the Republican caucus to abstain from voting until the high court rendered its decision.

But six Republican representatives, including Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, defied him to help bring the measure to the floor for a vote.

“Why doesn’t the Congress stand on its own two feet and say that we’re an independent branch?” said Representative Bacon. “We should defend our authorities. I hope the Supreme Court does, but if we don’t do it, shame on us.”

(Aljazeera)

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