Trump Tariffs: facts only, no political agenda here
Los Angeles, May 30, 2025
On April 2, 2025, and the days thereafter, the whole world watched U.S. President Donald Trump announcing what he called a “reciprocal tariff” strategy from the White House Rose Garden. He declared the day following April Fools’ Day “Liberation Day.” The planet panicked; the markets plunged…
No matter our race, citizenship, nationality, religion, political views, age or gender, we are all affected as we are all consumers. We can’t deny that we are having conversations about this consequential subject across the board. Yesterday, as I was on the phone with lawyer Robert Rivas, partner at Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin, LLP, in Los Angeles, specializing in the wine, beer and spirits industry for suppliers and importers, he suggested that I call Victor Owen Schwartz, the owner of VOS Selections, located in New York, NY. Schwartz’s dream was to bring from France artisanal wines from undiscovered appellations to the New York market. In 1987, with his mother, he founded VOS Selections. In 2019, he was joined by his daughter, Chloë Syrah Schwartz — interesting middle name.
A statement from Victor Owen Schwartz a few days after
“At VOS Selections, we’ve spent nearly four decades building a company rooted in relationships—with small-scale producers around the world, with our customers, and with our community. We import wines and spirits that cannot be replicated anywhere else because they are deeply tied to the land, culture, and people who make them.
Now, sweeping tariffs threaten to dismantle that ecosystem. These new taxes—imposed without Congressional approval—jeopardize not only our business, but the livelihoods of the family farmers we represent and the access American consumers have to diverse, authentic products.
We believe in free markets, fair process, and standing up when something is wrong. That’s why we’ve joined a legal challenge to these tariffs. This isn’t about politics. It’s about principle—and preserving the integrity of a business built on loyalty, trust, and fearless importing.”
As you can read, VOS Selections is a small, family wine affair
“The creation and enjoyment of Wine, Spirits, and Sakés is an essentially human experience,” says Victor Owen Schwartz. Those who drink will raise a glass to this statement.
Nowadays, VOS Selections imports wines, spirits, and sakés from sixteen different countries and five continents. Every single product is carefully selected for its quality and authenticity. The elected wines, spirits and sakés are hand-made by people who strive to express the essential qualities of their place.
• VOS Selections serves the New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia markets with personal service and a hands-on attention to customers’ needs.
VOS Selections, Inc. v. Donald J. Trump
It all started at a Sunday night family dinner where Schwartz met a lawyer and discussed Trump’s tariffs situation. They had the same ideas… Then, a phone call to the libertarian advocacy group Liberty Justice Center, and a lawsuit was filed on April 14, 2025, in the U.S. Court of International Trade, led by attorney Jeffrey Schwab.
The President invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify the “Liberation Day” tariffs, as well as the tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China. But under that law, the President may invoke emergency economic powers only after declaring a national emergency in response to an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security, foreign policy, or the U.S. economy originating outside of the United States. The lawsuit argues that the Administration’s justification— a trade deficit in goods—is neither an emergency nor an unusual or extraordinary threat. Trade deficits have existed for decades, and do not constitute a national emergency or threat to security. Moreover, the Administration imposed tariffs even on countries with which the U.S. does not have a trade deficit, further undermining the administration’s justification.
And as the Complaint explains, IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose across-the-board tariffs—it does not even authorize tariffs at all; and even if the IEEPA did extend such power to the President, that would be an unconstitutional delegation of Congress’s power to impose tariffs.
VOS Selections, who took the lead, was joined by four small, owner-operated businesses (think David against Goliath):
– FishUSA, Inc. is a 25-year-old retail and wholesale e-commerce business specializing in the production and sale of sportfishing tackle and related gear. Like much of the tackle industry, it sources many of its products from abroad, including Canada, China, South Korea, and Kenya;
– MicroKits LLC, founded by David Levi, is a small business based in Charlottesville, Virginia, that makes educational electronic kits and musical instruments. The company imports electronic components from China, Mexico, Taiwan, and Thailand, then assembles and finishes the products in its local workshop;
– Terry Precision Cycling, a Vermont-based brand of women’s cycling apparel, was severely affected by the 2019 tariffs, and the new Liberation Day tariffs now threaten the company’s survival;
– Genova Pipe, a privately held company in Salt Lake City, Utah, manufactures ABS pipe in the United States using imported ABS resin from South Korea and Taiwan. The tariffs have increased raw material costs, impacting their Washington state factory, which primarily exports to Canada.
On the phone with Victor Schwartz
Once again, the planet got mobilized when the ruling came from the three bipartisan judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade on May 28, 2025. The decision found that Trump had overstepped his authority by invoking emergency economic powers to impose sweeping tariffs on China, Canada, Mexico and other U.S. trading partners. I had to call Mr. Schwartz!
Right after finishing an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he returned my call. He was kind and calm, no vengeful tone in his words and voice, no propaganda. He views the circumstances purely as business ones, saying that the tariffs are bad for business. He does not want, and is not bringing, the debate to be a political one.
I asked him if he was happy. He answered: “Right now, I am overwhelmed. I am getting calls from all over.” To celebrate, he opened a bottle of rosé from Château Roquefort, located in the prestigious Bandol region, in the heart of Provence.
On May 29, 2025, a second federal judge from the District of Washington, D.C. ruled against Trump’s sweeping use of emergency tariffs. This decision intensifies the legal and political battle over one of the administration’s signature economic policies. Again, the lawsuit was brought by two small educational toy companies, Learning Resources Inc. and hand2mind Inc., who manufacture most of their products in Asia.
A few hours later, the appeals court temporarily reinstated Trump tariffs. Now, we all are in limbo…
Let’s see what’s the next bottle Victor Schwartz will open, or not? If he chooses Champagne, maybe I will open the bottle with him and my saber.
