A rising number of Republican senators are growing increasingly uneasy over Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff strategy on Canada and Mexico, two of the U.S.’s top trade partners.
On February 1, Trump announced a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, set to begin on February 4. Just two days later, he delayed the tariffs by a month, pushing the start date to March 4. The following day, a 10% tariff on Chinese imports went into effect. Trump also put a temporary hold on car tariffs after pressure from U.S. automakers. On March 6, the president suspended tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a deal Trump signed during his first term.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) didn’t mince words when discussing Trump’s approach. He bluntly stated that the tariffs are starting to harm the American economy, and Trump should back off. “When we start losing, you back off. There’s such a thing as strategic retreat,” Tillis told CNN’s Manu Raju. “At the end of the day, I think we have more leverage than any other nation. But we gotta be smart. And we don’t have all the leverage.”
Tillis’s comments reflect concerns from other Republicans who are worried about the potential damage the tariffs could do. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) echoed similar fears, warning that industries in his state are facing higher costs, which could hurt businesses and consumers. “Almost every industry in Kentucky has come to me and said, ‘I will hurt our industry and push up prices of homes, cars, and so, I’m gonna continue to argue against tariffs,” Paul told CNN.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) also expressed concerns over the uncertain effects of the tariffs, stressing that no one knows for sure how they will impact inflation. “I’m worried about the tariffs,” he said. “I’m not saying that tariffs are going to cause inflation. President Trump did them in his first term and they didn’t. I’m saying that we just don’t know and we’re in very obscure territory. We’re in uncharted waters. I think if the tariffs do start to cause inflation, I think the president will back away from them.”
