【By Chen Sijia, Observers Network】According to a report by Associated Press on October 28, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution with 52 votes in favor and 48 against, aiming to overturn President Trump's 50% tariff on Brazil. The resolution still needs to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives, but due to the Republican majority in the House repeatedly blocking legislative efforts to overturn the tariffs, it is expected to be shelved.

This bill was proposed by U.S. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia, calling for the termination of the national emergency status used by Trump to impose tariffs on Brazil. Kaine said this vote aims to force the Senate to discuss the "economic damage caused by the tariffs."

Kaine said before the vote that considering the "emergency" leading to the tariffs was triggered by Brazil suing the country's former president Bolsonaro, he believed Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was inappropriate, "This so-called emergency is entirely or partially sourced from outside the United States, i.e., Brazil's decision to sue Trump's friend. What kind of emergency is that?"

Kaine said, "I generally oppose tariffs unless their usage is very clear. I also oppose the president arbitrarily fabricating reasons to exercise emergency powers and doing various things without congressional approval."

Tim Kaine, U.S. Senate IC photo

In this vote, five U.S. Republican senators voted in favor, namely Susan Collins from Maine, Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, Rand Paul from Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, and Thom Tillis from North Carolina. Associated Press noted that this reflects voices within the Republican Party opposing Trump's tariff policies.

McConnell stated in a statement, "Tariffs have made building and buying homes more expensive in the United States, and the economic damage caused by trade wars is not an exception but the norm." Paul also criticized, "Imposing tariffs because you dislike someone is not an emergency, it's an abuse of emergency power and represents Congress abandoning its traditional role in taxation."

The resolution proposed by Kaine next needs to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives. However, Associated Press pointed out that the House Republicans have passed a new rule allowing the House leadership to block such bills from entering the voting process, so the House is unlikely to consider Kaine's resolution. Even if the resolution passes the House, Trump will definitely veto it.

In April this year, the U.S. Senate had previously passed a resolution with 51 votes to 48 against Trump's tariffs on Canada, but the resolution was eventually shelved by the House.

Kaine admitted that the House is unlikely to review this resolution. But he insisted that passing an anti-tariff resolution could send a "strong signal" to Trump. He said, "I noticed during Trump's first term that the president would respond to such matters. When he saw Republicans starting to vote against his policies, even in small numbers, it left a deep impression on him and might even prompt him to change his behavior."

In July, Trump posted a letter on social media to counter the Brazilian government's "political persecution" of former President Bolsonaro, announcing that he raised the tariff on Brazilian imports from 10% to 50%.

Bolsonaro served as the president of Brazil from 2019 to 2022, he was a close ally of Trump, often referred to by the public as "Tropical Trump." In October 2022, Bolsonaro lost his re-election bid, but he did not accept the result, claiming there was "electoral fraud." In January 2023, some of Bolsonaro's supporters stormed Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace, clashing with law enforcement officers.

On September 11, the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court announced that Bolsonaro's plot to stage a coup was proven, sentencing him to 27 years and three months in prison. Bolsonaro became the first former president in Brazilian history to be convicted of plotting a coup.

On October 26, Brazilian President Lula met with Trump during the ASEAN Summit. According to Reuters, Trump said after the meeting that he had a "good conversation" with Lula, "It's an honor for me to meet with the president of Brazil... I think we can reach some very good agreements between our two countries."

Lula said the meeting went smoothly and that the speed of reaching agreements would be "faster than anyone could imagine." Lula emphasized that the decision made by the United States towards Brazil was wrong, but he was willing to discuss any issue with Trump, "I told him it's very important to recognize Brazil as the largest country in South America, and Brazil is the most economically significant country in South America."

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7566557593666142761/

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