Trump sued over Canadian tariffs in latest legal challenge

The Liberty Justice Center is challenging the administration's use of Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act to hit Canadian goods from wine to dairy products and hockey sticks.That section of the nearly 100-year-old Act is aimed at protecting US business against foreign discrimination, but the legal group is arguing that it does not allow the executive branch "to impose sweeping tariffs or import restrictions whenever a trade dispute arises".The lawsuit seeks to challenge the White House's reliance on retaliatory tariffs imposed by Canada to justify its own duties under Section 338. Canada has imposed a series of countermeasures against numerous US tariffs. Last month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney matched the Section 338 US tariffs "dollar for dollar" after Trump imposed them for what he called "unequal treatment" of US cars, dairy and alcohol.It also points out Section 338 requires a 30-day waiting period before levies can be imposed, but the tariff on products including cheese was added to the list just a week before tariff collection began.Sara Albrecht, chief executive of the Liberty Justice Center, said the case was not about Trump himself but about the presidency."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," she said.