Gellert Global Group, a New Jersey-based family food importer, filed suit on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, in the US Court of International Trade in New York. The Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit legal group, brought the case on the company's behalf and asks the court to find the duties unlawful and to order refunds with interest for affected importers. The company says the 50% tariffs are raising its costs and straining its relationships with suppliers on both sides of the border. Between 16 September and 11 October, Gellert paid more than $520,000 in duties, according to the complaint. The New York Times reports the company could face an estimated $40 million a year in duties on Canadian cheese.
“These tariffs disrupt those relationships overnight and create costs and uncertainty that ripple through the entire supply chain.”
Donald Trump first imposed the 50% duties in August 2026, accusing Canada of discriminating against American cars, alcohol and dairy products. He widened the measures in September, adding products after Canada retaliated with its own tariffs. The covered goods now include dairy, cheese, furniture, clothing, wine, hockey sticks and paper goods. The White House has imposed the levy on about $20bn of Canadian goods since trade talks between the two countries broke down. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney matched the Section 338 duties dollar for dollar in September.
The lawsuit centres on Section 338 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, a provision meant to protect US industry against foreign discrimination that had not been used before this dispute. The complaint argues that two of the Canadian policies cited by Washington were adopted in response to the president's own tariffs, and that the third concerns Canadian dairy policy governed by the USMCA trade agreement. It also questions why Canadian cheese is taxed over disputes involving alcohol and cars. Section 338 requires a 30-day waiting period before duties take effect, and the cheese tariff was added only a week before collection began, the filing points out. Sara Albrecht, chief executive of the Liberty Justice Center, framed the case as a challenge to the presidency rather than 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.”
The case now goes before the Court of International Trade, which the New York Times says has repeatedly ruled against the White House and its tariffs. The Liberty Justice Center's suit is its fourth major case against Trump's tariff actions. A win could strengthen the administration's hand against Canada and other countries, while a loss would force the government to repay the duties it has collected. The White House had not immediately responded to a request for comment.
Pollar is free and carries no ads in the text. Its members keep it going.
Support PollarDiplomacy · New York and Ottawa
Gellert Global Group, a New Jersey family importer, filed suit on 20 October 2026 in the US Court of International Trade in New York, arguing that a 1930 law does not authorise the 50% duties.
AI text based on reports by Al Jazeera Online, BBC, Le Monde.fr and other publishers. Published .