Gellert Global Group Sues Over 50% Canadian Goods Tariffs

What changed

Gellert Global Group and the Liberty Justice Center have sued over the US government’s 50% tariffs on about $20bn of Canadian goods.

The case asks the US Court of International Trade to block collection of the levies and order refunds with interest. It argues that Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act neither permits such sweeping tariffs nor was followed properly.

Why it matters

This dispute puts the legal machinery behind the tariffs at centre stage. Gellert, a New Jersey food company, says it is paying a 50% duty on Canadian cheese while also facing Canadian retaliation on US-made cheese sold north of the border.

That leaves the company squeezed from both directions. Its costs rise entering the US, while its sales into Canada face a matching barrier. Gellert says the tariffs have disrupted long-standing supplier and customer relationships and created uncertainty across its supply chain.

The lawsuit also challenges the timing. Section 338 requires a 30-day waiting period, but the cheese tariffs were added to the list only a week before collection began. The case argues that the administration should not be able to move the same trade policy between different laws whenever one legal route becomes difficult.

The Liberty Justice Center previously won a case against Trump’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in February 2026. That gives this challenge added weight, but it does not decide the Canadian case.

The immediate outlook remains unresolved: the court has not ruled on the injunction or the tariffs’ legality. If the injunction succeeds, collection could be blocked while the court considers the wider arguments; if it fails, the duties will continue unless another ruling changes course.