In brief
The Trump administration's 50% tariffs on a $20 bn portfolio of Canadian imports have been hit with a fresh legal challenge from the Liberty Justice Center. The group, representing New Jersey‑based Gellert Global Group, argues the tariffs were unlawful and caused immediate harm to U.S. businesses, demanding refunds with interest. Drawing on Section 338 of the Tariff Act, the suit contends the White House exceeded its authority, a claim that follows earlier defeats of Trump’s tariff programs under the IEEA. The case highlights tension in the ongoing U.S.–Canada trade war and questions the executive branch’s tariff‑making limits.
By Rachel Clun, Business Reporter, New York
President Donald Trump’s 50 percent levy on roughly $20 bn of Canadian goods has drawn a fresh legal challenge from the Liberty Justice Center (LJC). The suit, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, seeks to declare the tariffs unlawful and to obtain refunds with interest for affected importers.
The LJC represents Gellert Global Group, a New Jersey‑based cheese exporter that has been hit with the duty on products shipped from Canada. Co‑chief executive Thomas Gellert said the tariffs disrupted longstanding supply‑chain relationships and added “costs and uncertainty that ripple through the entire supply chain.”
Central to the case is the assertion that the White House overstepped its authority under Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act. The LJC argues the act was superseded by Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act and that the executive branch did not establish a legal basis for the sweeping sanctions on Canadian imports.
Canada’s counter‑measures—matching U.S. tariffs dollar‑for‑dollar—form part of the backdrop, but the lawsuit focuses on the legality of the U.S. action rather than on Canada’s responses.
The LJC has also filed for a preliminary injunction to halt collection of the duties. This case follows two earlier challenges that invalidated Trump’s tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and marks the group’s fourth legal action against the administration’s trade policies.
"No president should have the power to pull a dormant statute off the shelf and impose sweeping tariffs or import bans without the limits Congress wrote," LJC CEO Sara Albrecht said. The case, she added, is about who has the authority to impose such measures, not simply a policy disagreement.
