Food importer sues Trump over 50% Canada tariffs under 1930 law
Gellert Global Group is asking the U.S. Court of International Trade to invalidate Trump’s Section 338 tariffs on certain Canadian goods and order refunds with interest.
A New Jersey food importer sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, seeking to block 50% tariffs on certain Canadian products imposed under a rarely used provision of the Tariff Act of 1930. The case opens a new front in the legal fight over Trump’s trade powers because it challenges Section 338 rather than the emergency-powers law targeted in earlier tariff litigation.
Gellert Global Group filed the case in the U.S. Court of International Trade. The company, represented by the Liberty Justice Center, is asking the court to declare the duties unlawful and order refunds with interest, according to the group’s case materials and BBC reporting. The allegations have not been decided by the court.
What the importer is challenging
The White House announced additional duties on Canadian goods in July after accusing Canada of discriminating against U.S. commerce in dairy, alcoholic beverages and motor vehicles. The measures eventually placed a 50% levy on roughly $20 billion of Canadian products after bilateral trade talks broke down, the BBC reported. Canada responded with matching retaliatory tariffs.
Gellert imports food products, including cheese from Canada. Its lawyers say the company now pays the 50% U.S. tariff when bringing Canadian cheese into the country while also facing Canada’s retaliatory duties on American-made cheese sold north of the border. The lawsuit describes that two-way exposure as immediate commercial harm, but the court will determine whether it supports the requested relief.
The complaint focuses on Section 338, a provision enacted nearly a century ago that allows the president to impose additional duties when a foreign country discriminates against U.S. commerce. The Trump administration revived the provision for its Canada measures. Gellert argues that the statute does not authorize broad tariffs whenever a trade dispute arises and that the administration stretched the law beyond the circumstances Congress specified.
A separate timing claim
The plaintiffs also raise a procedural argument. They contend that Section 338 requires a 30-day waiting period before new duties are collected. According to the BBC’s account of the filing, some products covered by the challenge were added to the tariff list only about one week before collection began. The lawsuit says that timetable did not satisfy the statute.
Those claims remain arguments by the importer and its lawyers, not judicial findings. The administration can contest the company’s interpretation of Section 338, its account of the timeline and whether the court has authority to grant the requested refunds. No ruling on the merits was reported when the case was filed Tuesday.
Why this case is different
Many prominent challenges to Trump’s tariffs have centered on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. Gellert’s case is different because the Canada duties at issue rest on Section 338. A decision could therefore clarify the limits of a separate presidential trade tool and affect how readily future administrations can use the 1930 statute.
The dispute is also narrower than the entire U.S.-Canada trade relationship. It concerns the specific products and duties imposed through the Section 338 actions, not every tariff or import restriction affecting Canadian goods. Other restrictions and retaliatory measures would not automatically disappear simply because Gellert prevails on one statutory theory.
For now, the practical effect is a fresh court test of the legal basis and rollout of Trump’s Canada tariffs. The duties remain in force unless the court issues relief or the administration changes course. The government’s formal response and the court’s initial schedule will provide the next indications of how quickly the challenge may proceed.
Sources and image credit
Primary case materials: Liberty Justice Center case page and October 20 announcement. Independent reporting: BBC News. Administration background: White House Canada tariff fact sheet and presidential action concerning dairy.
Image: President Donald Trump meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office on May 6, 2025. Official White House photograph by Emily J. Higgins, sourced through Wikimedia Commons and marked public domain. Center-cropped and resized to 1600×900; no text added.