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The Liberty Justice Center filed the lawsuit in the US Court of International Trade on behalf of Gellert Global Group, arguing that President Donald Trump lacked authority to invoke Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 for the duties that took effect in August. According to the complaint, the provision had never been used before to impose tariffs in its nearly century-long existence and has been superseded by subsequent trade laws that give Congress greater oversight. The suit seeks a ruling declaring the tariffs unlawful, an injunction against their enforcement and refunds with interest for duties already paid by affected importers.
Trump imposed the 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian products over the summer after his administration accused Ottawa of discriminatory treatment against US-made cars, alcohol and dairy goods, Reuters reported. The measures initially covered hockey sticks, wine, honey and wigs before expanding to include cheese, furniture, cement, clothing, fishing rods and other items that a Bloomberg analysis valued at nearly $28 billion. Canada responded with retaliatory measures of its own, setting off a tit-for-tat cycle that multiple outlets described as an escalating trade war between the two largest trading partners.
Gellert Global Group, a New Jersey-based importer with $1.7 billion in annual revenue, imported $71 million worth of Canadian cheese in 2025 without facing tariffs under the USMCA trade agreement, court filings show. The company now faces an estimated $40 million in added annual costs from the new duties and is seeking to represent a class of similarly affected businesses, according to The New York Times. Gellert Global Group stated in the complaint that the tariffs represent the administration’s latest attempt to exercise through a statute never designed for the purpose the tariff power that the Constitution assigns to Congress.
The lawsuit marks the fourth major case brought by the Liberty Justice Center against Trump tariff actions, following a US Supreme Court ruling in February that struck down most of the president’s 2025 tariffs, Reuters figures show. The complaint contends that Section 338 is a relic of retaliation-based tariff policy that has been impliedly repealed by later legislation, does not meet the law’s own criteria for discrimination and runs afoul of the major questions doctrine and nondelegation principles. Even if the provision remains valid, the suit argues, the tariffs far exceed any offsetting response to Canadian practices.
The case arrives as the broader trade dispute has strained cross-border supply chains, with a Parliamentary Budget Office report finding that the conflict could reduce real GDP by 1.4 percent from 2024 levels after five years. Prior Trump tariff efforts using other statutes such as Section 122 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act have faced repeated court setbacks, according to legal analyses published by Reason magazine. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest filing.
Liberty Justice Center attorneys noted that a victory in the class action could block enforcement of the Section 338 tariffs across all affected importers rather than just for Gellert Global Group. The US Court of International Trade has jurisdiction over such trade disputes and will now consider whether to grant the requested relief while the underlying policy remains in place. Trade lawyers following the matter told CNBC that the outcome could shape the limits of executive power over tariffs for years to come.
