Trump revives dormant 1930 tariff law to hit Canadian imports, sparking legal doubts

In an effort to pressure Canada over alleged discrimination in dairy, automotive and alcoholic beverage markets, President Donald Trump revived Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act, imposing a 50% tariff on $20 billion of Canadian imports. The action provoked a dollar-for-dollar retaliation from Ottawa and heightened already tense bilateral relations. Section 338, a relic of the Smoot-Hawley era, has never been applied or tested in court, prompting trade lawyers to describe it as a "blank canvas."

Scholars argue that newer statutes such as the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the Trade Act of 1974 likely superseded the older authority, and that the tariffs were also applied to unrelated products like hockey sticks and cement. Former U.S. Trade Representative counsel John Veroneau maintains the tariffs are justified under the law’s anti-discrimination language, yet no lawsuit has been filed and the Liberty Justice Center reports difficulty finding plaintiffs. The measures affect roughly 5% of Canadian imports, far less than Trump’s broader 2025 tariff plan, leaving open the chance for renewed negotiations to resolve the standoff.