U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) is leading a bipartisan effort to block President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, warning they will raise prices for American consumers and damage a crucial trading relationship with one of the nation’s oldest allies.
“This Liberation Day is actually going to be going down as tax day for Americans,” Warner said during a media call with Virginia media on Wednesday (April 2), referring to Trump’s self-proclaimed “Liberation Day” announcement of new tariffs.
The Virginia Democrat is joining with Sen. Tim Kaine and others on legislation that would undermine Trump’s ability to impose these tariffs by challenging the administration’s declaration of a fentanyl emergency on the northern border.
“There is no fentanyl emergency on the northern border. There is a fentanyl emergency on the southern border with Mexico,” Warner explained. “This fake emergency that allowed him to impose these tariffs isn’t a fulsome emergency.”
The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation today, with Warner expressing hope that at least four Republicans will join Democrats to reach the 51 votes needed for passage.
Warner points to significant economic impacts for Virginia, which sends approximately $3.3 billion in products to Canada annually and imports about $3.2 billion.
“Canada is the second biggest recipient of all our agricultural products,” Warner noted. “This will dramatically affect Virginians.”
The senator highlighted specific industries already feeling the effects, including breweries that source ingredients from Canada and liquor distributors whose Canadian market is disappearing. One brewer has already laid off 20% of his workforce, according to Warner. Bill Butcher, founder of Port City Brewing Company, joined the Senator on Tuesday on Capitol Hill to warn that Canadian tariffs will hurt small businesses.
“Think about peanuts. We’ve got southeast Virginia, got a lot of peanut farms. Canada is the second biggest buyer of Virginia peanuts,” he said. “You put a big tariff on that, that’s going to go away.”
The auto industry faces particularly steep price increases, with Warner citing estimates of $2,000 to $5,000 in additional costs per vehicle.
“We’ve spent 20 years, including Trump’s first term, where he renegotiated the trade deals with Canada and Mexico and put his signature to that where, particularly in terms of cars, we’ve tried to integrate the two economies to be more efficient,” Warner said. “Trump is trying to unwind all that.”
Beyond the immediate economic impact, Warner expressed concern about long-term damage to the U.S.-Canada relationship, noting that Canadian travel to the United States is already down by 75%.
“If Donald Trump got up today and said, ‘Hey, you know, no problem, we love Canada,’ well, you can’t put this relationship back on an even level,” Warner said. “This will affect our relations for years to come.”
The senator also addressed other national security concerns, including the handling of classified information by Trump administration officials and the ongoing TikTok situation.
Warner criticized what he describes as “careless handling of classified information” through the use of non-secure communication channels like Signal and Gmail by administration officials, including Mike Waltz.
“If this had been a traditional military officer or CIA case officer who’d done this behaviour, they would be fired, no questions asked,” Warner said. “So far we have no one held responsible.”
On TikTok, Warner expressed concern about the approaching deadline for the app to be sold, warning that if the algorithm remains controlled by ByteDance in Beijing, “the whole effort has been a farce.”
“We don’t want TikTok to go away. We just don’t want it to be controlled by our adversaries,” he explained, noting that 150 million Americans spend about 90 minutes daily on the platform.
Warner also addressed concerns about Postal Service job cuts, calling the move “outrageous” especially given recent progress toward profitability under the previous Postmaster General.
“The Postal Service actually outdates the founding of our country. It is the only agency that’s mentioned in the Constitution,” Warner said. “Any effort to privatise the Post office, any effort to sell off its pieces or give private business a better deal than what taxpayers receive in terms of shipping costs, we got to fight tooth and nail.”
The senator also mentions his bipartisan Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act, co-sponsored with Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), which aims to combat food insecurity through tax incentives for businesses that provide fresh food in underserved areas.
“Upwards of 60% of Virginians live in what’s called a food desert,” Warner noted, referring to areas where residents lack convenient access to fresh produce, meat, and fish.
As the Senate prepares to vote on the Canadian tariff legislation, Warner remains hopeful but realistic about the challenges of securing Republican support in the current political climate.
“I have to give it to you, through threats so far, people have not been willing to actually vote their conscience,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see whether we can pick up four or five or six Republicans today.”
