In brief
The Liberty Justice Center has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a 50% tariff on Canadian products, arguing the executive overstepped its legal mandate. The suit relies on Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, contending it does not authorize sweeping retaliatory duties. The case targets $20 billion of imports, including cheese, wine and dairy, and seeks refunds with interest for affected U.S. importers. Trump is also facing a challenge to earlier tariffs imposed under IEEPA, marking an ongoing legal battle over trade policy. The dispute reflects broader tensions in U.S.-Canada relations amid a trade war that sees both sides imposition of countermeasures.
US President Donald Trump is facing another legal challenge on tariffs after the group that successfully sued over his so-called "liberation day" import taxes filed a new lawsuit over the latest Canadian levies.
The White House imposed a 50% levy on some $20 bn of Canadian goods after trade talks broke down in August. The Liberty Justice Center filed a suit on behalf of US food business Gellert Global Group, urging the US Court of International Trade to find the levies unlawful and to order refunds with interest for affected importers.
The lawsuit argues the White House exceeded its authority in imposing the tariffs and caused "immediate harm to American businesses". Gellert Global Group, a third‑generation family business that exports cheese from Canada, is also facing retaliatory tariffs from Canada on American‑made cheese it sells north of the border.
Co‑chief executive Thomas Gellert said the firm had spent generations building relationships with suppliers and customers in the food industry. "These tariffs disrupt those relationships overnight and create costs and uncertainty that ripple through the entire supply chain," he said on Tuesday.
The Liberty Justice Center is challenging the administration's use of Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act to hit Canadian goods from wine to dairy products and hockey sticks. That section is aimed at protecting US business against foreign discrimination, but the legal group argues it does not allow the executive branch to impose sweeping tariffs or import restrictions whenever a trade dispute arises.
The lawsuit seeks to challenge the White House's reliance on retaliatory tariffs imposed by Canada to justify its own duties under Section 338. Canada has imposed a series of countermeasures against numerous US tariffs, and last month Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney matched the Section 338 US tariffs "dollar for dollar" after Trump cited "unequal treatment" of US cars, dairy and alcohol.
Section 338 requires a 30‑day waiting period before levies can be imposed, but the tariff on products such as cheese was added to the list just a week before tariff collection began. Sara Albrecht, chief executive of the Liberty Justice Center, said the case was not about Trump himself but about the presidency.
"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," she said.
The litigation also questions whether Section 338 has been superseded by Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. If Section 338 remains in effect, the White House has not established the legal basis for the sweeping tariffs against Canada. The law group has also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block their collection.
It is the fourth case brought by the Liberty Justice Center against Trump's tariffs, following the successful challenge to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs that were struck down in February this year. Albrecht said the group has brought all the cases for the same reason: "the Constitution gives tariff power to Congress. The executive branch cannot keep moving the same policy from one statute to another and pretend the limits disappear."
