The Liberty Justice Center is challenging the administration’s use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose tariffs and import restrictions on Canadian goods on behalf of Gellert Global Group, a third-generation family-run food business that imports and distributes food products across the U.S. Gellert also works with American farmers and producers to bring U.S. food products to international markets. The lawsuit seeks relief for Gellert and a proposed class of American importers affected by the tariffs.
On October 20, 2026, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging the administration’s Section 338 action. Alongside the complaint, the Liberty Justice Center filed a motion seeking a preliminary injunction to block collection of the tariffs and summary judgment in Gellert’s favor.
The lawsuit argues that Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 superseded or limits the use of Section 338, and that even if Section 338 still applies, the administration has failed to establish the statutory basis for its sweeping tariffs.
The lawsuit advances five principal arguments:
The case is not an objection to tariffs as such. It asks who has the power to impose them and whether the executive branch followed the law Congress wrote.
The Section 338 tariffs impose a 50% tax on the Canadian cheeses Gellert Global Group imports, while Canadian retaliation also affects the American cheeses its Canadian division sells in Canada. Those costs do not stop with one company.
One of Gellert’s Canadian cheese suppliers purchases milk from dairy farmers in upstate New York, processes it into brie in Canada and ships the finished cheese back to American customers. The tariffs therefore disrupt a supply chain that supports American farmers, businesses and consumers.
The stakes extend far beyond one business and far beyond Canada. If Section 338 can be used this way against Canada today, it can be used against any country tomorrow. That would give future presidents of either party sweeping power to impose tariffs and import restrictions without meaningful congressional control.
The case builds on the Liberty Justice Center’s successful Supreme Court challenge to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), its successful challenge to Section 122 tariffs in the Court of International Trade, now on appeal, and its pending Section 301 litigation. Each case seeks to enforce the constitutional and statutory limits on presidential tariff authority.
The Liberty Justice Center asks the court to declare the Section 338 tariffs unlawful, stop their collection, and order refunds, with applicable interest, for affected importers.
Jeffrey M. Schwab serves as Senior Counsel and Director of Litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, where he litigates cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property and other Constitutional rights in both federal and state courts across the country.
Reilly Stephens is a Senior Counsel at Liberty Justice Center, where he assists in cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property, and other Constitutional rights in courts across the country.
For generations, Gellert Global Group has helped bring food from around the world to American tables.
The family-run business, headquartered in Elizabeth, New Jersey, connects farmers, food producers and suppliers around the globe with American grocery stores, restaurants, hotels and manufacturers. Its business depends on longstanding relationships—and the ability to move products reliably across international borders.
Now, the administration’s decision to impose steep tariffs and outright bans on certain Canadian imports threatens those relationships, increases costs and disrupts the supply chains that American businesses and consumers depend on.
“Our customers are personal friends. Our employees are personal friends. People we buy from are personal friends.” — George G. Gellert, Chairman of the Board, Gellert Global Group
Gellert Global Group traces its roots to 1945, when Leon Rubin and Herbert Moeller founded Atalanta Corporation as an importer of Polish food products. What began as one family business has grown into a network of food-importing and distribution companies serving customers across the United States.
Today, the group sources more than 4,000 unique food items from more than 60 countries, supplying retailers, distributors, foodservice chains, hotels, cruise lines and food manufacturers.
Its products include specialty cheeses, fruits and vegetables, nuts, seafood and other ingredients used throughout the American food industry. Many consumers encounter Gellert’s products without ever knowing the family business that helped bring them to market.
Behind those products are American workers, farmers, truckers, warehouse operators, retailers and restaurant owners who depend on the international supply chains that companies like Gellert have spent generations building.
Built on Long-Term Relationships, Not Just Imports
The Gellert family remains closely involved in the business, with family members serving in leadership roles across the organization, including Co-Chief Executive Officer Thomas Gellert and Co-Chief Executive Officer Andrew Gellert.
The family has built its business around a principle passed down through generations: suppliers are partners, not simply vendors, and lasting relationships are essential to providing quality products to American customers.
Gellert Global Group works with suppliers across more than 1,000 approved manufacturing sites worldwide to bring a diverse range of food products to market. Its food safety and quality assurance team oversees standards across that global supply base.
But Gellert’s global business is not simply about bringing foreign products into America. It also helps American producers reach customers across our borders. And nowhere is that relationship more apparent than in its trade with Canada.
Consider what happens to milk produced by dairy farmers in upstate New York. One of Gellert’s businesses exports that American milk to Canada, where it is made into specialty cheese. The finished cheese then crosses the border again, returning to the United States to help meet demand for products that American producers do not supply in sufficient quantities.
The American farmer has a customer. The Canadian cheese producer has a supplier. American distributors, restaurants, retailers and consumers receive a product they want. And an American family business helps make the entire process possible.
What might appear on paper to be a simple import from Canada is actually the final step in a supply chain that began on an American farm. Disrupting that trade can hurt American businesses on both sides of the border.
How Tariffs and Import Bans Threaten Gellert’s Business
The administration has invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose additional tariffs of 50 percent on certain Canadian products and prohibit the importation of others altogether. These measures threaten American businesses like Gellert that depend on cross-border trade.
For Gellert, these are not abstract trade disputes. They threaten relationships built over generations, disrupt business decisions made months or years in advance, and create uncertainty for the American companies and workers that depend on its products.
Why Gellert Global Group Is Challenging the Administration’s Use of Section 338
Represented by the Liberty Justice Center, Gellert Global Group is challenging the administration’s use of Section 338 because the Constitution gives Congress—not the president—the power to impose tariffs and regulate foreign commerce.
The lawsuit argues that Section 338—a provision of the Tariff Act of 1930 directed at foreign discrimination against U.S. commerce—is not an all-purpose tool for imposing sweeping tariffs or import restrictions whenever a trade dispute arises.
The case is not about whether tariffs are good or bad trade policy. It is about who has the constitutional authority to impose them—and whether the president can invoke a nearly century-old statute to impose tariffs and import bans beyond the limits Congress established.
For three generations, Gellert Global Group has built a business connecting American farmers, food producers and consumers with markets around the world. Its lawsuit seeks to protect those relationships and uphold a fundamental constitutional principle: The president must operate within the limits of the authority Congress has given him.