U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego says returning to the CUSMA negotiating table is the best path toward repairing the fractured Canada-U.S trade relationship, while arguing Democrats could rein in President Donald Trump’s tariff powers if they take control of Congress in November.  

“I do think we should be repealing all of our tariffs between the United States and Canada, whether Trump is there or not, and I think the next president that comes in also should recognize that tariffs between the United States and Canada is just dumb,” Gallego said at a press conference on Tuesday in the U.S. Embassy. 

The Arizona Democrat said his visit was intended in part to reassure Canadians that Democrats do not share Trump’s administrative approach to the relationship, while emphasizing the economic stakes for his home state. 

This comes as U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is set to introduce legislation to repeal President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs on Canadian goods, as well as the separate duties that the Trump administration says are linked to forced labour supply chains. 

When asked by iPolitics, Gallego said he supported Schumer’s bill and removing all tariffs Trump imposed on Canada since he took office again in 2025.

“We are better if Canada and the United States does not have these dumb tariffs that are going to really negatively affect and just essentially raises taxes on ourselves,” Gallego said. 

It’s unclear if Schumer’s bill would also repeal the so-called s. 232 sectoral tariffs on autos, steel, aluminium, lumber and other products.

A message to Schumer’s office wasn’t returned prior to publication on Tuesday.

Gellego said the effects of the trade dispute are already being felt in the U.S., pointing to housing as one example because of American reliance on Canadian lumber.  

“Tariff policy is not a replacement for industrial policy, and I think the president just doesn’t understand that,” he said. 

While noting that he can’t promise the exact outcome — as it depends on how many democrats would be elected ahead of November’s midterm elections — Gallego said there would be a strong incentive within the party to increase congressional oversight of tariffs and reclaim some of the authority lawmakers have ceded to the executive branch. 

Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the power to impose tariffs, though lawmakers have delegated significant authority over trade to the president through legislation over the years.  

However, Gallego’s opposition to Trump’s tariffs doesn’t mean he believes the Canada-U.S. trading relationship should remain unchanged. 

The senator has previously called for the agreement to better support American manufacturing, pointing to energy as one area where the U.S. could seek greater assurances from Canada, though stressing the disputes should be handled through formal negotiations rather than escalating tariffs. 

He added that returning to the CUSMA negotiating table could also provide Canada with greater certainty that any agreement reached with Washington would last, particularly if Congress eventually moves to restrict the president’s ability to impose tariffs unilaterally. 

“What I saw when I was in Congress… was a very professional manner which Mexico, Canada, and the United States engaged in,” Gallego said. “Even though it was still President Trump, I think we could still do that, and I just rather be doing that than this tariff policy.”