- The lawsuit argues the tariffs exceed presidential authority
- Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods over the summer
Updated 20 October 2026 19:44
reuters
NEW YORK: A food importer on Tuesday sued to stop the Trump administration’s latest tariffs on imports from Canada, saying that the duties represent another attempt to claim an unfettered presidential tariff power that has been roundly rejected in court.
Republican President Donald Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian imports over the summer in response to what his administration called Canada’s discriminatory treatment of US-made cars, alcohol and dairy goods.
In imposing the tariffs, Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, marking the law’s first known usage in nearly a century of existence.
The lawsuit, filed by the legal nonprofit Liberty Justice Center on behalf of food importer Gellert Global Group in the US Court of International Trade, says that Trump has used shifting legal rationales and dusted off never-used US laws in a persistent effort to claim authority over tariff power that the US Constitution assigns to Congress.
The US Supreme Court in February ruled against most of the tariffs Trump imposed in 2025, but the Trump administration has continued to issue wide-ranging tariffs that have been subject to legal challenges by US states and businesses.