McConnell on vote to undo Trump tariffs against Canada: ‘We need to reinforce our allies’

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the United States needs to “reinforce our allies” when asked why he voted to undo President Trump’s tariffs against Canada.

Four GOP senators, including McConnell, voted with Democrats on Wednesday for a resolution to undo Trump’s 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports. McConnell, the former Senate Republican leader, said he’s long warned that tariffs are a bad idea.

“At a time when Americans are tightening their belts, we would do well to avoid policies that heap on the pain,” McConnell said in a statement Wednesday after the vote. “We ought to strengthen our friendships abroad, and reinforce our allies as pillars of American prosperity and security.”

McConnell was joined by Republican Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) in voting for the resolution, allowing it to pass.

It dealt an embarrassing blow to Trump on another tariff announcement day, which he dubbed “Liberation Day.”  

“With so much at stake globally, the last thing we need is to pick fights with the very friend with whom we should be working with to protect against China’s predatory and unfair trade practices,” McConnell’s statement said. “That includes what we do on trade.”

The group of senators voted against Trump just hours after he announced he’d impose a 10 percent tariff on all imports.

In a post before the vote, Trump slammed McConnell and the other three senators, saying they “hopefully” will join the GOP and fight Democrats’ “wild and flagrant push” not to penalize Canada.

The Trump administration has sought to frame the tariffs on the country’s northern neighbor as a way to crack down on the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.

McConnell has already noted the impact his state has felt from the Canadian tariffs, as companies have pulled Kentucky-distilled bourbon from Canadian shelves.

“In Kentucky, broad-based tariffs could even have long-term consequences right in our backyard,” his Wednesday statement said. “Consider our state’s 69,000 family farms that sell their crops around the globe, or the hardworking Kentuckians who craft 95 percent of the world’s bourbon, or our automotive and manufacturing industries that rely on global supply chains.”

“Make no mistake: goods made in America will be more expensive to manufacture and, ultimately, for consumers to purchase, with higher broad-based tariffs,” McConnell continued.