Five Senate Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday night in passing a resolution that would block President Donald Trump’s tariffs on billions of dollars of goods from Brazil.
The legislative language blocks Trump’s emergency declaration that imposed tariffs on most Brazilian imports at 50%.
The measure passed in a 52-48 vote. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined 47 Democrats in supporting it.
Despite the bipartisan support, the Senate rebuke of Trump is largely symbolic since the House is unlikely to take it up anytime soon, if at all. The House last month passed a measure that blocks votes challenging Trump’s tariffs into next year.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the vote. The office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the measure and whether it would come up in the House after the block on tariff votes expires.
Democrats forced a vote on the so-called privileged measure, meaning the majority party did not need to agree to hold the vote, and the resolution needed only 51 votes to pass.
The measure is similar to one the Senate passed in April, which would block Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products. Of the five Republicans who voted Tuesday to block the tariffs on Brazil, all but Tillis voted with Democrats on the measure in April. That resolution has not advanced in the House.
Trump met this week with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Malaysia, where both leaders suggested a trade deal between the two countries is likely.
Trump had enacted the tariffs on Brazil as a response to the trial of his ally former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil’s Supreme Court voted last month to sentence Bolsonaro to more than 27 years in prison, convicting him of plotting a coup to remain in power after the country’s election in 2022.
Trump initially placed a 10% tariff on Brazil in April, but he hiked the rate to 50% in July over Bolsonaro’s trial.
