Full Breakdown
Gellert Global Group Sues Over 50 % Tariffs on Canadian Cheese
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In this breakdown
01
New Lawsuit Targets 50 % U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Cheese
Family-owned Gellert Global Group, a third-generation food distributor based in an industrial complex near Newark Airport, has filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s 50 % tariffs on selected Canadian goods. The company imports roughly $80 million US of Canadian cheeses each year, including Celebrity goat cheese from Mariposa Dairy in Lindsay, Ontario. At the imposed rate, the tariffs could amount to about $40 million US in annual costs.
02
Trade War Background and Legal Basis
The tariffs were enacted after trade talks with Canada stalled in August. The administration invoked Section 338 of the U.S. Tariff Act—a Depression-era provision, also known as the Smoot-Hawley Act, that allows the president to impose up to 50 % duties on imports from a country it deems discriminatory. Washington cited Canada’s bans on certain U.S. alcohol products, protections for its dairy sector, and auto-industry measures as evidence of discrimination. The tariff list, originally covering roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods such as cement, road salt, and hockey sticks, has been adjusted twice, with some changes prompted by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine seeking exemptions for her state’s businesses.
03
Official Positions and Legal Arguments
The Trump administration maintains that the tariffs are a lawful response to Canadian actions that disadvantage U.S. producers. It argues that the Section 338 authority provides a “blank canvas” for addressing such trade disputes. Lawyers for the administration are expected to link each targeted product to a specific discriminatory act by Canada, a connection critics say is tenuous.
04
Criticism and Legal Challenge
The lawsuit is being pursued by the Liberty Justice Center, a non-profit legal advocacy group that previously helped overturn the IEEPA tariffs. The Center also contends that the tariff list does not align with the alleged Canadian discrimination and that the rollout was “illegally rushed.” Trade lawyer Ryan Majerus of King & Spalding International Trade Group adds that “there’s a good chance it could get reversed,” noting that the product-list adjustments may undermine the government’s claim.
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Verbatim Quotes
- “Customers are not going to take price increases. Everyone is sort of beat down and tired from inflationary pressures,” — Thomas Gellert, the company's CEO
- “We felt like our job wasn't done if the President keeps putting illegal tariffs on different countries,” — Sarah Albrecht, the chair and CEO of the Liberty Justice Center
- “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,” — Sarah Albrecht, the chair and CEO of the Liberty Justice Center
- “There's a good chance it could get reversed,” — Ryan Majerus, a trade lawyer and partner at King & Spalding International Trade Group