US food importer launches legal challenge to tariffs on Canadian dairy products

Gellert Global Group, a U.S. based food importer, filed a lawsuit on October 20 in the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging the Trump administration’s use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian goods. The case, brought by the Liberty Justice Center on behalf of the company and a proposed class of importers, argues that the administration exceeded its statutory authority. It contends that Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 superseded the 1930 law, and that duties on Canadian cheeses were collected seven days after the products were added to the tariff list, despite a 30 day waiting period. The plaintiffs ask the court to declare the tariffs unlawful, block their collection and order refunds with interest, and they have also sought a preliminary injunction.

The lawsuit highlights cross border dairy supply chains. According to the Liberty Justice Center, one of the company’s Canadian cheese suppliers buys milk from dairy farmers in upstate New York, makes it into brie in Canada and ships the finished cheese back to the United States, so the tariffs affect farmers and businesses on both sides of the border. The company says it pays the 50% tariff on the Canadian cheese it imports, while Canada’s retaliatory tariffs hit American made cheeses sold by its Canadian division. The case is pending and no judicial decision has been reached, but its outcome could affect tariff costs and trading conditions for businesses operating across the U.S. and Canada agricultural border.