Senate Passes Resolution Ending 50% Brazil Tariffs

The Senate voted 52–48 to terminate the national emergency President Trump used to impose 50% tariffs on most Brazilian imports, including coffee and beef, in a resolution led by Sen. Tim Kaine. Five Republicans — Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul and Thom Tillis — joined every Democrat to pass the measure in a rare bipartisan rebuke of the president’s trade policy. The tariffs were imposed this summer after Brazil prosecuted and sentenced former president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years, a move the White House framed as a national security action. Lawmakers said the levies act as a tax on U.S. consumers, disrupt supply chains and hurt farms and manufacturers, while critics said the administration overreached by using emergency trade powers. The vote is largely symbolic because House rules and a likely presidential veto make repeal unlikely, but senators said the roll call signals growing GOP unease and precedes similar challenges to tariffs on Canada and other countries and an expected court fight.