Latest news with #VOSSelections
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
How a small wine company complicated Trump's sweeping tariff plans
Victor Schwartz was cooking dinner — a bottle of Vermentino wine already uncorked — when he received the news Wednesday evening. A little-known federal trade court had overturned President Donald Trump's sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs, which had sent shock waves through markets worldwide in recent weeks. And Schwartz's tiny wine-importing company, V.O.S. Selections in New York City, was at the center of the lawsuit that had just thwarted the White House's plans.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Small-business owners sue Trump administration over tariffs
(NewsNation) — A federal appeals court has reversed one of two rulings that block President Donald Trump's tariffs. A group of small-business owners sued the Trump administration over the tariffs, arguing that the president had overstepped his authority. The block was imposed by a New York-based court that handles trade cases before the block was lifted. Victor Schwartz, the owner of wine importer VOS Selections and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, appeared on 'NewsNation Now' on Thursday to discuss the lawsuit and its impact on his business. Schwartz said the uncertainty surrounding tariffs has made managing his business 'very challenging.' Harvard-Trump court battle — and polarizing debate — continue Jeffrey Schwab, the attorney in the lawsuit, said the law Trump relied on to issue tariffs, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), does not allow the president to impose his 'Liberation Day' tariffs. He added that the stay on the tariffs is only temporary while the appeal is reviewed. 'I knew even though I was so elated over the win, I knew it was not over,' Schwartz said. Many of Trump's other tariffs remain blocked under a separate ruling made by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
How a small wine importer took On Trump's tariffs
Victor Owen Schwartz is the founder of a family-run wine and spirits importer called VOS Selections. Victor Owen Schwartz was preparing linguine and clams for dinner Wednesday night when he spotted an email from his lawyers with some good news. 'I wasn't shocked," said Schwartz. 'I thought we were right, but I know that's not always the way the world works." Schwartz, a small wine importer and distributor, is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that was filed in April by the Liberty Justice Center, a libertarian legal group, to challenge President Trump's tariffs. The email told him that a federal court had ruled in his favor and invalidated almost all of Trump's tariffs. 'This is really a win for small business in America and the right of free trade," Schwartz said. The 66-year-old businessman is the unlikely face of tariff resistance. He is one of five small businesses that agreed to take on the U.S. government. Big corporations, powerful CEOs and trade groups didn't mount legal challenges to the Trump administration's tariffs. An appeals court Thursday granted a government request to pause the decision while it considers an appeal. Other tariff challenges, including one by a group of states, have been filed, but Schwartz's case is front and center. An unhappy banker, Schwartz started his business, VOS Selections, 39 years ago after working for five years as a commercial lender. His New York City company imports wines, sakes and spirits from small producers in 16 countries. European wines account for the bulk of sales. He was introduced to Ilya Somin, a George Mason University constitutional law professor and co-counsel in the case, by a family member who had been a student of Somin's. The professor had written a February post on the blog Volokh Conspiracy calling the tariffs unconstitutional. Lawyers at the Liberty Justice Center had reached out to him to help bring a case. 'We are importers. We are canaries in the coal mine, on the front line of this issue," said Schwartz, who started as a two-person operation and now has about 20 employees. His firm sells to restaurants, small liquor stores and big chains such as Total Wine. Schwartz said he was nervous about the political repercussions of challenging the Trump administration but decided to go ahead anyway. 'If I didn't do it, who is going to do it?" he said. 'It was not a political decision. It was a business decision." Schwartz started his wine business 39 years ago after working for five years as a commercial lender. The Liberty Justice Center, which is based in Texas, has brought more than 135 lawsuits since it launched in 2011. The libertarian, nonprofit public-interest litigation law firm previously was best known for a case that reached the Supreme Court in 2018 that allowed government employees to opt out of union dues. The group initially spoke with about a dozen small-business owners about joining the tariffs lawsuit but had little success finding potential plaintiffs. 'A lot of people we contacted were hesitant to challenge the administration," said Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center and lead counsel on the tariff lawsuit. In early April, Somin wrote in a post that he and the Liberty Justice Center were looking for plaintiffs for a lawsuit challenging the tariffs that they would represent on a pro bono basis. 'I think the ideal client would be a privately held company affected by the tariffs that imports materials directly from one of the countries subject to the tariffs," Somin wrote. 'The company doesn't have to be a small business, but since I suspect many small businesses will be disproportionately harmed by the tariffs, that may be an ideal plaintiff." The post generated a lot of interest. The group spoke with about three dozen businesses before settling on at least 10 they liked. Some decided not to participate. Somin said being counsel on a case was new for him, as he mostly spends his time writing amicus briefs and doesn't litigate cases. However, the libertarian scholar did represent himself about 30 years ago at a hearing in front of a Massachusetts state board to fight points being added to his auto insurance. 'I was successful in that case," he said. Along with VOS, four other small businesses joined the case: a fishing tackle retailer in Pennsylvania, a women's cycling apparel brand based in Vermont, a Utah manufacturer of plastic pipe, and MicroKits, a Virginia-based maker of educational electronic kits. The five plaintiffs, collectively, import goods from more than three dozen countries, Schwab said, and represented a variety of industries. VOS was selected as the lead plaintiff in part because 'wine illustrated why the broad-based tariffs don't make any sense," Schwab said. David Levi, the owner of MicroKits, which sells do-it-yourself electronics kits for students and hobbyists, gets about 60% of his parts from China. 'Either you can't find them in the U.S., or they are five to 10 times more expensive," he said. Levi started the business in 2020 and has one part-time employee. When the tariffs hit, he stopped placing parts orders. 'I was petrified," he said. 'The meaning of petrified is you are so scared, you don't take any action." With fewer parts on hand, he had to slow production and cut his part-time employee to 15 hours a week from 25. He also raised prices. A kit that produces sounds now sells for $49.95, up from $39.95 before the tariffs. VOS also had to review each of its products to quantify the tariff impacts. Schwartz and his daughter Chloë Syrah Schwartz, who helps run the business, decided to put off purchases of some new items and slower-selling products. Tariffs are particularly painful, Schwartz said, because they must be paid when the goods arrive in the U.S., not when they are sold. The company has paid about $20,000 in new tariff costs this year. 'The simple word is contraction," said Schwartz. 'We have to buy less. We have to buy more carefully. We can't take the same risks we normally would." Write to Ruth Simon at and James Fanelli at
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
How an NYC wine company helped take on Trump's tariffs and won, at least for a day
When Victor Schwartz began his small, New York City-based wine company nearly 40 years ago, he certainly never expected to be facing off against the most powerful person in the world. But Schwartz and his company VOS Selections are the lead plaintiffs in a legal battle against some of Donald Trump's tariffs, in a case which could have economic implications across the world. "I didn't start my company with the idea of like I'm going to sue the president of the United States some day," Schwartz told CBC News. "That was not my goal in life. I just wanted to bring in really nice wine to sell to people that enjoyed them." Yet Schwartz's company was instrumental in landing a serious legal blow against Trump's tariff policies on Wednesday, when a court ruled the administration had exceeded its right to impose some of those tariffs and had to stop collecting them. Short-lived victory The victory, however, was short lived when, a day later, a U.S. federal appeals court granted an emergency motion that would allow the administration to continue the tariffs, at least temporarily. Schwartz seemed to take the reversal in stride. "That's just part of the process. It's not like we thought we won the case after that decision [Wednesday] This process, we knew was going to be appealed," he said. In February, Trump invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, saying that the illegal flow of immigrants and drugs across the U.S. border amounted to a national emergency and that the three countries needed to do more to stop it. Last month, Trump also cited the IEEPA when he imposed what he referred to as "reciprocal" tariffs which, he said, were needed to address the U.S. trade balance with other countries. He later suspended those tariffs for 90 days to give countries time to agree to reduce barriers to U.S. exports. In its ruling Wednesday, a three-judge panel at the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade, found that the president had exceeded his authority when he invoked that act. The ruling came in a pair of lawsuits. One was filed by the nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small U.S. businesses, including VOS Selections, which import goods from countries targeted by the tariffs. The other lawsuit was filed by 12 U.S. states. Schwartz says when the first decision came down on Wednesday he wasn't exactly sure what it meant until a lawyer friend explained it to him. "Then I was pretty elated, and I knew it was a really good thing for everybody, for us, for small businesses across the country, and for world trade, you know?" he said. The tariffs are "really just a terrible, terrible impact on what we're trying to do here." He celebrated in his Manhattan apartment with his wife, and of course a special bottle of wine, a vermentino from France. His company, which he runs with his daughter Chloe, imports wines from 16 countries and distributes them to neighbouring states. Schwartz says he runs a family company that works with family operations and family farms in Europe and the U.S. Asked to join the case Schwartz says he didn't seek legal redress but found out through a family member that Ilya Somin, a constitutional law professor at George Mason University, was going to be bringing a case against the tariffs. Schwartz says he contacted Somin just to tell him about what was going on in his industry and that Somin was very interested to hear his story. "Long story short, they asked me to join the case and then eventually asked me to be their lead plaintiff," he said. "That's really how it evolved. I'm a very unintentional plaintiff here. I didn't go out looking for this fight." WATCH | Carney welcomes ruling blocking some Trump tariffs: Carney welcomes U.S. court decision blocking some Trump tariffs 9 hours ago Duration 11:51 Prime Minister Mark Carney says a U.S. court decision that struck down some of Donald Trump's tariffs shows that they were 'unlawful as well as unjustified.' A three-judge panel ruled the president overstepped his constitutional authority by using emergency powers to impose sweeping levies on global goods. He says the first time he read the legal complaint, with his company's name on it, he laughed "kind of crazily." "'VOS Selections versus Trump.' It was like a kind of dream," said Schwartz. "It was 'Wow, this is amazing.'" Meanwhile, Somin, the law professor, said in his blog on Thursday that the appeal court ruling was not an indefinite stay, but a temporary block while a decision is made over whether a more permanent stay, pending appeal, should be implemented. If the case eventually makes its way to the Supreme Court, Somin told CBC News that his team is "guardedly optimistic" they will prevail. He says he was not surprised by Wednesday's ruling. Somin says that, during oral arguments a couple of weeks ago, the judges seemed to make it pretty clear that they did not accept the administration's claim that the president "essentially has the power to impose any tariffs he wants on any country at any time for any reason, for as long as he wants, as long if he feels like it." That, said Somin, is a "massive power grab."
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
How a Small Wine Importer Took On Trump's Tariffs
Victor Owen Schwartz was preparing linguine and clams for dinner Wednesday night when he spotted an email from his lawyers with some good news. 'I wasn't shocked,' said Schwartz. 'I thought we were right, but I know that's not always the way the world works.' Schwartz, a small wine importer and distributor, is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that was filed in April by the Liberty Justice Center, a libertarian legal group, to challenge President Trump's tariffs. The email told him that a federal court had ruled in his favor and invalidated almost all of Trump's tariffs. 'This is really a win for small business in America and the right of free trade,' Schwartz said. The 66-year-old businessman is the unlikely face of tariff resistance. He is one of five small businesses that agreed to take on the U.S. government. Big corporations, powerful CEOs and trade groups didn't mount legal challenges to the Trump administration's tariffs. An appeals court Thursday granted a government request to pause the decision while it considers an appeal. Other tariff challenges, including one by a group of states, have been filed, but Schwartz's case is front and center. An unhappy banker, Schwartz started his business, VOS Selections, 39 years ago after working for five years as a commercial lender. His New York City company imports wines, sakes and spirits from small producers in 16 countries. European wines account for the bulk of sales. He was introduced to Ilya Somin, a George Mason University constitutional law professor and co-counsel in the case, by a family member who had been a student of Somin's. The professor had written a February post on the blog Volokh Conspiracy calling the tariffs unconstitutional. Lawyers at the Liberty Justice Center had reached out to him to help bring a case. 'We are importers. We are canaries in the coal mine, on the front line of this issue,' said Schwartz, who started as a two-person operation and now has about 20 employees. His firm sells to restaurants, small liquor stores and big chains such as Total Wine. Schwartz said he was nervous about the political repercussions of challenging the Trump administration but decided to go ahead anyway. 'If I didn't do it, who is going to do it?' he said. 'It was not a political decision. It was a business decision.' The Liberty Justice Center, which is based in Texas, has brought more than 135 lawsuits since it launched in 2011. The libertarian, nonprofit public-interest litigation law firm previously was best known for a case that reached the Supreme Court in 2018 that allowed government employees to opt out of union dues. The group initially spoke with about a dozen small-business owners about joining the tariffs lawsuit but had little success finding potential plaintiffs. 'A lot of people we contacted were hesitant to challenge the administration,' said Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center and lead counsel on the tariff lawsuit. In early April, Somin wrote in a post that he and the Liberty Justice Center were looking for plaintiffs for a lawsuit challenging the tariffs that they would represent on a pro bono basis. 'I think the ideal client would be a privately held company affected by the tariffs that imports materials directly from one of the countries subject to the tariffs,' Somin wrote. 'The company doesn't have to be a small business, but since I suspect many small businesses will be disproportionately harmed by the tariffs, that may be an ideal plaintiff.' The post generated a lot of interest. The group spoke with about three dozen businesses before settling on at least 10 they liked. Some decided not to participate. Somin said being counsel on a case was new for him, as he mostly spends his time writing amicus briefs and doesn't litigate cases. However, the libertarian scholar did represent himself about 30 years ago at a hearing in front of a Massachusetts state board to fight points being added to his auto insurance. 'I was successful in that case,' he said. Along with VOS, four other small businesses joined the case: a fishing tackle retailer in Pennsylvania, a women's cycling apparel brand based in Vermont, a Utah manufacturer of plastic pipe, and MicroKits, a Virginia-based maker of educational electronic kits. The five plaintiffs, collectively, import goods from more than three dozen countries, Schwab said, and represented a variety of industries. VOS was selected as the lead plaintiff in part because 'wine illustrated why the broad-based tariffs don't make any sense,' Schwab said. David Levi, the owner of MicroKits, which sells do-it-yourself electronics kits for students and hobbyists, gets about 60% of his parts from China. 'Either you can't find them in the U.S., or they are five to 10 times more expensive,' he said. Levi started the business in 2020 and has one part-time employee. When the tariffs hit, he stopped placing parts orders. 'I was petrified,' he said. 'The meaning of petrified is you are so scared, you don't take any action.' With fewer parts on hand, he had to slow production and cut his part-time employee to 15 hours a week from 25. He also raised prices. A kit that produces sounds now sells for $49.95, up from $39.95 before the tariffs. VOS also had to review each of its products to quantify the tariff impacts. Schwartz and his daughter Chloë Syrah Schwartz, who helps run the business, decided to put off purchases of some new items and slower-selling products. Tariffs are particularly painful, Schwartz said, because they must be paid when the goods arrive in the U.S., not when they are sold. The company has paid about $20,000 in new tariff costs this year. 'The simple word is contraction,' said Schwartz. 'We have to buy less. We have to buy more carefully. We can't take the same risks we normally would.' Write to Ruth Simon at and James Fanelli at
