by Craig Brightup, The Brightup Group —
New Tariffs on Certain Canadian Products
On July 20, 2026, President Trump announced new tariffs on certain Canadian products that are imported into the U.S. The new 50% tariffs took effect on August 22 and have been imposed under the authority of Sec. 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which gives the President discretion for tariffs up to 50% when a foreign country has taken actions that disadvantage U.S. commerce. However, Sec. 338 has not been used before and has never been subject to legal challenge. It’s estimated the tariffs cover 5% of Canadian imports ranging from wine to hockey sticks to cement, and Customs and Border Protection’s guidance for implementing them can be found here: CSMS message. The 338 tariffs apply to all covered goods regardless of whether a good originates under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), but do not apply to energy, potash, products subject to tariffs under Sec. 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, and certain other goods, such as fish or critical materials.
Legal Challenge to Sec. 122 Tariffs
On Feb. 24, President Trump shifted the defunct International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs to 10% tariffs under Sec. 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. This shift was limited to 150 days unless extended by Congress thus the 122 tariffs expired on July 24. However, these temporary tariffs were challenged because Sec. 122 empowers the President to impose tariffs of up to 15% to address balance-of-payment issues. Consequently, on May 7 the three-judge Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled 2-1 that Sec. 122 did not authorize the tariffs, and the Administration got a stay from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals allowing it to continue to collect the tariffs while the legal challenge plays out. Though the 122 tariffs were replaced by Sec. 301 forced labor tariffs on 60 economies, the challenge remains alive. As such, plaintiffs have told the Federal Circuit that President Trump illegally based his temporary tariffs on the misapplication of a law allowing the president to address balance-of-payment deficits, urging the court to preserve the CIT’s ruling against the tariffs.
Legal Challenge to Sec. 301 Forced Labor Tariffs
On August 3, 25 states sued the Trump Administration in the CIT claiming President Trump is again trying to impose illegal tariffs against nearly all U.S. trading partners and this time under the guise of a law meant to combat forced labor. The 10%-12.5% Sec. 301 tariffs under the Trade Act of 1974 became effective July 24 based on whether 60 economies have lax laws prohibiting imports made by forced labor or no such laws at all. Per the lawsuit, “The action is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to the law,” and “….there is no rational fit between the purported problem of forced labor in international supply chains and the blanket global tariffs the USTR [U.S. Trade Representative] imposed.” Another suit was filed on July 24 in which two companies told the CIT that President Trump’s latest 301 tariffs covering most imports to the U.S. is yet another instance of the President attempting to establish an illegal global tariff regime. This lawsuit was filed on behalf of the two small businesses by the Liberty Justice Center, which was behind the small business plaintiffs that beat the IEEPA tariffs.
DOJ Indicts Shipping Container Makers for Price Fixing
According to a federal indictment unsealed in May 2026, the U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ) charged seven Chinese executives and four of he world’s largest shipping container manufacturers with criminal antitrust conspiracy during the pandemic. According to DOJ, conspirators agreed to restrict how many containers they all would manufacture in order to deliberately create an artificial shortage.
