By Sara Albrecht | Nov. 01, 2026
(NJ.com)
In Elizabeth, a family-owned food importer is facing a staggering new cost: an estimated $40 million a year in tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
The company is Gellert Global Group, a third-generation family business that imports specialty foods for restaurants, grocery stores and retailers across the country. Its predicament illustrates how Washington’s trade wars reach directly into New Jersey businesses and, ultimately, Americans’ wallets.
Canada is not some distant adversary. It is our neighbor, ally and one of America’s closest trading partners. Our economies are so intertwined that the border often functions less like a wall and more like a line running through a shared supply chain.
Take cheese. Gellert imports specialty cheese from Canada, but some of that cheese begins with milk from American dairy farmers in upstate New York. That milk crosses into Canada, is turned into cheese and then is imported back into the United States for American restaurants, retailers and consumers.
That is not outsourcing. That is a regional supply chain that supports American farmers, New Jersey businesses and consumers on both sides of the border.
Now add tariffs. Suddenly, a product that may begin with American milk can be caught in a trade fight because it crossed the northern border and came back in a different form. If Canada retaliates against U.S. goods, the milk could face additional costs going north. If the United States imposes tariffs or bans on Canadian dairy products, the finished cheese can be hit coming south.
An American agricultural product can become collateral damage in a trade dispute between allies. And New Jersey businesses are left paying the price.
In July, Trump announced 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods, including dairy products, alcohol and motor vehicles, under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
Then the trade fight escalated. In September, the administration announced bans on certain Canadian dairy products, alcoholic beverages and other goods, citing Canada’s retaliation and alleged discrimination against American commerce.
For a New Jersey importer such as Gellert, these are not abstract trade policies. They are real costs imposed on a business that has spent generations building relationships with suppliers and customers.
Tariffs are taxes. They are paid first by American importers. Then the cost moves through the economy. Sometimes it shows up as higher prices. Sometimes it means lower margins. Sometimes it means fewer products, delayed hiring or canceled expansion.
That is why my organization, the Liberty Justice Center, filed suit this week on behalf of Gellert Global Group, challenging the administration’s use of Section 338. The point is not whether every Canadian trade practice is fair. Reasonable people can debate dairy quotas, alcohol rules, auto policy and the best way to respond when another country treats American goods unfairly.
The point is who gets to make that decision. The Constitution gives Congress the power to tax and regulate foreign commerce.
Congress has enacted laws authorizing presidents to take certain trade actions, but that authority is not unlimited. Section 338 is a nearly century-old statute that has never before been used this way. Later trade laws established more specific procedures and safeguards. Our lawsuit challenges the administration’s attempt to bypass those limits.
This is not just about Canada. It is part of a broader pattern. After the Supreme Court rejected the administration’s use of emergency powers to impose broad tariffs, the government turned to other statutes. Section 122. Section 301. Now Section 338. The statute changes. But the question remains: What limits has Congress placed on the president’s power to impose these taxes?
Whatever the legal justification, the economic reality is the same: American businesses pay these tariffs. And those costs do not stop at the warehouse door. They reach restaurants, grocery stores and kitchen tables across New Jersey.
Congress can debate whether tariffs on Canada are wise. Congress can hold hearings, weigh trade-offs and decide whether the benefits outweigh the costs. That is how our system is supposed to work.
But no president should be able to tax Americans without respecting the limits Congress established.
New Jersey’s businesses depend on predictable rules, reliable trading relationships and the freedom to compete. They should not have to go to court to protect themselves from taxes Congress never authorized.
Tariffs are taxes. And this time, a New Jersey business is fighting to make sure Washington remembers who has the authority to impose them.
Read this Op-ed on the NJ.com website by clicking here.
To learn more about the author, Sara Albrecht, CEO of Liberty Justice Center, click here.
To read more about the LJC Tariff cases click here.
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