Trump's New Tariffs on Canada Raise Familiar Legal Risks

International Trade attorney Patrick Childress was quoted in a New York Times article about the Trump Administration's use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose new tariffs on certain Canadian imports, including auto parts, hockey sticks and cheese. The rarely mentioned provision allows the president to respond to "unequal impositions or discriminations" against American goods, but its application has never been tested in court or previously used to implement tariffs. Patrick noted the lack of judicial precedent, along with questions about whether later trade laws may have superseded Section 338, could make these measures vulnerable to legal challenges.

"The law is nearly 100 years old. It has never been tested in court, and it has never been used to implement tariffs, ever, in its existence," he said.

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