The Trump administration was sued over its Canadian tariffs Tuesday by the same group that successfully got the Supreme Court to overturn a large swath of the president’s levies last year.
The Liberty Justice Center filed the suit in the US Court of International Trade on behalf of Gellert Global Group, a New Jersey importer that estimates the tariffs will cost it $40 million a year on cheese imports.
That is part of a range of Canadian goods — which also include alcohol, hockey sticks and cement — that Trump subjected to 50% tariffs in August amidst a heated trade dispute with the US’ neighbor to the north. They came on top of existing levies on aluminum, lumber, vehicles, and steel.
The 50% duties on Canadian goods became effective Sept. 9, with President Trump also banning Canadian alcohol including whiskey, malt beer, sparkling wine, vermouth and cider and other spirits.
“Congress empowered the President under Section 338 to offset the burden or disadvantage from discrimination by foreign governments against U.S. commerce in favor of other foreign commerce, including Canada’s continued discrimination against American dairy, alcohol, and auto exports,” according to a statement from the White House.
“Today’s complaint will not deter President Trump’s commitment to level the playing field for American workers, farmers, and firms, and the Administration will defend vigorously the President’s actions in court.”
The new complaint takes aim at Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, “a dormant statute” that was never used before now, according to Sara Albrecht, chairman and chief executive of the Liberty Justice Center.
The group is seeking a preliminary injunction to block the 50% tariffs, arguing among other things that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing the tariffs without authorization from Congress.
Gellert pays hefty taxes on both ends, importing Canadian cheeses to the US and on American dairy products it ships to Canada.
“Gellert Global Group has spent generations building trusted relationships with suppliers, customers and partners across the food industry,” said Thomas Gellert, co-chief executive of the company.
“These tariffs disrupt those relationships overnight and create costs and uncertainty that ripple through the entire supply chain.”
One of Gellert’s suppliers, for example, purchases milk from dairy farmers in upstate New York, processes it into brie in Canada and ships the finished cheese back to the States.
A $1.7 billion company, Gellert imported $71 million worth of Canadian cheese, including goat’s milk cheese, brie, mascarpone and camembert to the US last year.
The latest duties came after Trump claimed that Canada discriminated against US businesses. They were briefly paused while Canada and the White House negotiated trade deals, but instead of an amicable agreement, both sides escalated the conflict, with Canada imposing reciprocal tariffs on US goods.
The talks collapsed with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney blaming “last-minute changes in the US proposed terms” that he described as “unfair, uneconomic” and calling “into question the reliability of any deal” for the breakdown in talks.
The Liberty Justice Center won its first tariff case against the administration in February when the Supreme Court struck down the president’s tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The government has been refunding those tariff payments, including interest charges.
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