GOP lawmakers reportedly discussing ways to block Trump's Mexico tariffs

Republican lawmakers are talking about whether they should vote to block President Trump from imposing new tariffs on Mexico, one of America's top trading partners, people familiar with their discussions told The Washington Post on Monday.

Last week, Trump tweeted that he would enact a 5 percent tariff on Mexican imports starting June 10, which would go up 5 percentage points every month until October, unless Mexico stops the surge of undocumented migrants arriving at the southern border. In February, Trump declared a national emergency along the border, and under the law, Congress can override this by passing a resolution of disapproval. Congress did this in March after Trump reallocated border wall funds, but he vetoed it. Now, though, there could be enough votes for a veto-proof majority.

The GOP lawmakers view the tariffs as a tax increase on American consumers and businesses, the Post reports, and Democrats and Republicans alike are publicly encouraging Trump to reconsider. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters he thinks tariffs would call into question "our ability to pass" Trump's North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) replacement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). "So, we need to put our heads together and try to come up with a solution," he said.

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