If Democrats win the U.S. midterm elections, Trump’s tariff policy may still be difficult to overturn

The United States will hold midterm elections on the 3rd. Trade experts and congressional staff said that if the Democratic Party wins control of Congress, U.S. President Trump's trade agenda will face new obstacles. Congress may hold oversight hearings and symbolic tariff rollback votes next year, but Trump will still insist on pushing for more tariffs.

subject to presidential veto

Reuters reported that the Democratic Party is eager to pass a bill to overturn many of the tariff measures implemented by Donald Trump and the older regulations on which they are based. However, no matter how much progress the Democrats make, they will still be subject to Trump's presidential veto power.

Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said: "One of the clearest priorities is to reverse Trump's tariffs on Canada. These tariffs not only drive up prices, but also harm communities on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border."

The Republican Party currently has a slim majority in the House of Representatives with 218 seats to 214 seats and the Senate with 53 seats to 47 seats. The Democrats must gain a net gain of 4 seats in each house to overturn the Republican majority in both houses.

Opinion polls show that the Democratic Party is more likely to win the House of Representatives, but the race in the Senate is still difficult to determine. The Democratic Party is far from reaching the 2/3 seat threshold that is enough to override the president's veto.

At the same time, the Trump administration is developing plans to rely more heavily on executive action in various areas, including trade policy, without the need for congressional approval.

Difficult to reach 2/3 seats in Congress

If Democrats win at least one house of Congress, they may hold symbolic votes on long-stalled trade bills, such as the End Trump's Tariff Tax Act proposed by Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.

The bill would repeal Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the legal basis for imposing punitive tariffs on Canadian goods, and Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which Trump used to impose temporary 10% global tariffs.

The "Ending Trump Tariffs Act" also requires the refund of all tariffs imposed under these ancient trade regulations. There are 28 co-sponsors, including Weiden.

William Reinsch, a non-resident adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank in Washington, said: "The Democrats will try to push for many measures, but I don't think any measures will be able to complete the legislative process, because no matter what happens, the two parties will not obtain the 2/3 majority in Congress that is enough to override the presidential veto."