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Trump Sued Over 50% Canada Tariffs by Group That Beat His Emergency Tariffs

Writer: Yossi Schmidt
Yossi Schmidt
2 days ago
2 min read

President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on Canadian goods are now facing a court challenge from the same legal group that won the Supreme Court fight over his emergency tariffs.

The Liberty Justice Center filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. Court of International Trade on behalf of Gellert Global Group, a family-run food importer, according to the group. It asks the court to declare the tariffs unlawful, stop their collection and order refunds with interest for affected importers. The group also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction.

The White House imposed the 50% duties on a range of Canadian products, including cheese, alcohol, hockey sticks and cement, after trade talks with Canada broke down in August, the New York Post reported. The duties took effect Sept. 9.

What the Lawsuit Argues

The case targets the administration's use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a provision aimed at foreign discrimination against U.S. commerce. Sara Albrecht, chief executive of the Liberty Justice Center, called it "a dormant statute" that had never been used before now, according to the Post.

The suit argues that Section 338 has been superseded by Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, and that even if it still applies, the administration has not established the legal basis for the tariffs. It also says Section 338 requires a 30-day waiting period, but cheese was added to the list about a week before collection began, BBC News reported.

"No president should have the power to pull a dormant statute off the shelf and use it to impose sweeping tariffs or import bans without the limits Congress required," Albrecht said, according to the BBC.

The group says the case "is not an objection to tariffs as such." It "asks who has the power to impose them and whether the executive branch followed the law Congress wrote."

An Importer Caught in the Middle

Gellert imported $71 million worth of Canadian cheese last year and estimates the tariffs will cost it $40 million a year, the Post reported. The company also faces Canada's retaliatory tariffs on the American cheese it sells there.

"These tariffs disrupt those relationships overnight and create costs and uncertainty that ripple through the entire supply chain," co-chief executive Thomas Gellert said.

Trump imposed the duties over what he called Canada's "unequal treatment" of U.S. cars, dairy and alcohol, according to the BBC. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney matched them "dollar for dollar" last month.

The Group's Fourth Tariff Case

It is the fourth case the Liberty Justice Center has brought against Trump's tariffs. Its earlier challenge led the Supreme Court to strike down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and the government has been refunding those payments with interest, the Post reported.

The White House had not commented on the new lawsuit in the reports reviewed by The Digital Free Press.

Hold Everyone Accountable.

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