New Jersey importer sues administration over 50% tariffs on Canadian cheese
Gellell Global Group filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging a 50% tariff on Canadian cheese, claiming the duty could cost the company about $40 million a year.
A New Jersey-based food importer has sued the administration over a 50% tariff applied to certain Canadian cheese imports. Gellert Global Group, represented by the Liberty Justice Center, filed the case in the U.S. Court of International Trade, arguing that the duty could cost the company roughly $40 million annually.
The lawsuit contends that President Donald Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose the tariffs and later expanded the list to include cheeses imported by Gellert. The importer previously brought Canadian cheese into the United States under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement without paying duties, but now faces the new levy.
"This case is not about the president. It is about the presidency. 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," said Sara Albrecht, chairman and CEO of the Liberty Justice Center.
"These tariffs disrupt those relationships overnight and create costs and uncertainty that ripple through the entire supply chain," said Thomas Gellert, co-CEO of Gellert Global Group.
The Liberty Justice Center is seeking a court declaration that the tariffs are unlawful, an injunction to stop their collection, and refunds with interest. The filing follows previous challenges to the administration’s tariff measures under other trade statutes.
The administration maintains the tariffs respond to alleged discriminatory Canadian trade practices, while Canadian officials have disputed the U.S. position and imposed retaliatory duties on some American products.