Three days after a blue tsunami swept both chambers, Democrats have picked their first trade fight, and it's the one they have already won three times.
According to the WSJ, Democrats are eyeing President Trump's trade war with Canada as the first target in a campaign to roll back the administration's tariff agenda, according to Senate Finance's top Democrat (and soon its chairman), Oregon's Ron Wyden.
"There is overwhelming support for repealing the tariffs on products from Canada," Wyden told the Journal, adding that he is already talking with colleagues about legislation once he takes the committee gavel in January, and that "Congress must take away the president's ability to unilaterally and arbitrarily impose tariffs."
Overwhelming, maybe. Veto-proof? Not even close, and as we show below, the timing is even worse: the next (and biggest) round of Canada tariffs takes effect on January 1, two days before the new Congress is sworn in.
Why Canada? Because That's Where Republicans Already Cracked
The logic of going after Canada first is simple: it's the tariff fight where Republicans have most reliably crossed the aisle. Wyden's camp told the WSJ that the Canada levies are the best opportunity to flip Republicans against Trump and possibly build enough support to avert a veto, or even override one. The plan is to bolt sweeteners onto the repeal to win GOP votes, and to keep forcing floor votes on the least popular parts of the trade agenda in hopes of more defections.
There is precedent. The Senate voted 51-48 to terminate th
