The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill

Congress must close this tariff loophole

by Marc L. Busch, opinion contributor - 10/22/26 1:00 PM ET

by Marc L. Busch, opinion contributor - 10/22/26 1:00 PM ET

FILE – President Donald Trump speaks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, at a working lunch with leaders of G7 and the Middle East in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP,File)

President Trump’s most recent tariffs are headed to court. On Oct. 20, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of Gellert Global Group, an American food importer, challenging his use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose tariffs on Canadian goods.

The case exposes a loophole in U.S. trade law that the courts may not be able to close, but that Congress can no longer afford to ignore.

One of the complaint’s main arguments is that Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 effectively replaced Section 338.…