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A family-run American food importer sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods, arguing that the duties are illegal and cost the company roughly $40 million a year on Canadian cheese imports.
Gellert Global Group, a New Jersey-based food importer, filed a lawsuit in the US Court of International Trade with representation from the Liberty Justice Center, the latest legal challenge targeting the Trump administration’s tariff policies.
The lawsuit comes after President Donald Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 over the summer to impose a 50% tariff on certain Canadian imports. The administration expanded the list of guaranteed products in September to include cheese imported by Gellert.
The Liberty Justice Center asked the court to declare the tariffs illegal, block collection and refund them with interest.
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President Donald Trump’s administration is facing a new lawsuit from American food importers challenging a 50% tariff imposed on certain Canadian goods. (Al Drago/The Washington Post/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The group says the Trump administration is using the Tariff Act of 1930 to exceed its intended purpose and impose tariffs on products that have nothing to do with Canada’s current policies.
“This case is not about the president. It’s about the presidency. No president has the power to pull a dormant statute off the shelf and use it to impose sweeping tariffs or import restrictions without the restrictions Congress requires,” Sara Albrecht, president and CEO of the Liberty Justice Center, said in a statement.
According to the complaint, Gellert previously imported Canadian cheese duty-free under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) but now faces a 50% tariff.
On September 28, the company imported a shipment of goat milk cheese valued at approximately $120,000 and paid more than $60,000 in tariffs, according to the complaint.
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President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have traded criticism after the collapse of US-Canada trade negotiations. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/Getty Images)
The Trump administration said it imposed the tariffs in response to what officials described as discriminatory Canadian trade practices affecting American businesses.
The lawsuit alleges that the tariffs do not compensate for the alleged discrimination because they apply to products unrelated to the challenged Canadian policy.
Thomas Gellert, co-CEO of Gellert Global Group, said the tariffs are disrupting business relationships that have been developed over generations.
“These tariffs disrupted that relationship overnight and created costs and uncertainty that affected the entire supply chain,” Gellert said.
The lawsuit is the Liberty Justice Center’s fourth challenge to the administration’s tariff policy under different statutory authorities, following cases involving the IEEPA and Sections 122 and 301 of the federal trade law.
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The Canadian flag flies over the shores of Lake Ontario, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on August 27, 2026. (Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
In February, the Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) did not authorize the president to impose the tariffs challenged in the case, but the administration continued to impose levies under other trade laws.
The federal trade court also ruled against replacement tariffs imposed under Section 122, a decision the administration appealed, while another challenge involving Section 301 remains pending.
The Liberty Justice Center previously challenged the administration’s IEEPA rates and also challenged rates imposed under Sections 122 and 301.
The latest legal challenge comes amid an ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended trade negotiations in August, accusing the US of making unfair last-minute changes to a potential agreement.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office disputed the account, saying Canada was refusing to meet previously agreed terms.
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A New Jersey-based food importer is suing the Trump administration over tariffs on Canadian imports that it says could cost the company $40 million a year. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Canada has begun imposing retaliatory tariffs on certain US products.
FOX Business has reached out to the White House for comment.