Gellert Global Group Challenges Trump Tariffs on Canadian Goods

A US food importer has launched a legal challenge against President Donald Trump's latest tariffs on Canadian products, arguing that the administration exceeded its authority under federal trade law. The Liberty Justice Center filed the lawsuit on behalf of Gellert Global Group at the US Court of International Trade, seeking to block the duties and recover payments with interest.

The White House imposed a 50% tariff on approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian goods after trade negotiations between the United States and Canada broke down in August. The measures affect products including cheese, wine, dairy goods and hockey sticks, according to the lawsuit.

Gellert Global Group, a third-generation family business based in New Jersey, pays the 50% duties on cheese imported from Canada. The company also faces retaliatory Canadian tariffs on American-made cheese it sells across the border, adding costs on both sides of its cross-border business.

Thomas Gellert, the company's co-chief executive, said the tariffs threaten established commercial relationships and create uncertainty throughout the food supply chain.

"These tariffs disrupt those relationships overnight and create costs and uncertainty that ripple through the entire supply chain," Thomas Gellert said on Tuesday.

The lawsuit challenges the administration's reliance on Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a provision intended to protect American businesses against discriminatory treatment by foreign countries. The Liberty Justice Center argues that the statute does not authorize the executive branch to impose broad tariffs whenever trade disputes arise.

The legal filing also questions whether the administration followed the statute's procedural requirements. Section 338 requires a 30-day waiting period before tariffs take effect, but the lawsuit says cheese and other products were added to the affected list only one week before collection began.

The case further disputes the administration's use of Canadian retaliatory measures to justify its own duties. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney matched the US tariffs imposed under Section 338 dollar for dollar last month, following Trump's claims that American cars, dairy products and alcoholic beverages faced unequal treatment.

Sara Albrecht, chief executive of the Liberty Justice Center, said the lawsuit concerns the limits of presidential authority rather than opposition to Trump personally.

"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," Sara Albrecht said.

The lawsuit argues that Section 338 has been superseded by Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. It also contends that, even if Section 338 remains in effect, the administration has not established a sufficient legal basis for imposing the current tariffs on Canadian goods.

The Liberty Justice Center said the dispute centers on Congress's authority over tariffs and whether the executive branch complied with federal law.

"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," the Liberty Justice Center said.

The organization has also requested a preliminary injunction to stop the tariffs from being collected while the case proceeds. The White House has been contacted for comment.

This is the Liberty Justice Center's fourth lawsuit challenging Trump's tariffs. The group previously won a case against broad duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which were struck down in February 2026.

Albrecht said the organization views the cases as part of the same constitutional dispute over the allocation of tariff powers between Congress and the executive branch.

"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," Albrecht said.