A new lawsuit filed Tuesday challenges President Donald Trump's invocation of a Depression-era law to impose 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian goods.
Trump in July used Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to slap those steep tariffs on Canadian hockey sticks, wine, honey, wigs, and other products in response to alleged trade discrimination by Ottawa. It was the first time the 96-year-old law had ever been used to impose a tariff.
"Section 338 is a relic of the retaliation-based tariff policy" that has been "impliedly repealed" by subsequent legislation, the civil complaint filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade says.
The suit was filed by Gellert Global Group, a New Jersey-based food importer that says its cheeses are covered by the tariffs. The complaint asks the court to declare the tariffs unlawful, block their enforcement, and order the Trump administration to issue refunds for duties already paid, with interest.
Gellert Global is represented by the Liberty Justice Center, the same legal group that dealt a major blow to Trump's trade agenda by successfully contesting his "reciprocal" tariffs.