Did a Wine Importer Just Sink Trump’s Trade War?
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What led to the court ruling against Trump's tariffs?
From The New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams, and this is The Daily. In a blow that has threatened to derail President Trump's trade agenda, a federal court ruled on Wednesday that many of the president's tariffs are in fact illegal. That decision makes the future of Trump's trade war even more uncertain. Today,
Victor?
Yes, hello?
Hi, it's Rachel Abrams from The Daily. How are you?
I'm just crazy.
You're having quite the day.
It has just been nonstop. I got a call from ABC News in the middle of dinner. They wanted to come over to my place, which kind of got me nervous because I thought they were some weirdos. I grilled them a bit. I hope they're real. I said, OK, well, meet me outside my building. I'm not letting you in my house. So that was fine. They were very nice people. And then I got a call from CNN in Hong Kong. So that was crazy. And then the phone's been ringing and everybody wants to get my comment.
How did Victor Schwartz become the lead plaintiff?
Obviously, the reason that you're getting hounded is that you were the lead plaintiff on a case that got ruled on Wednesday afternoon.
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
So the ruling basically said, you know, much of Trump's tariffs are illegal.
Correct.
Can you just bring us to the moment where you found out about the court ruling? How did you find out and how did you feel? Well...
I was literally preparing dinner. I was looking for a recipe for linguine and clams. And I walked over to the computer. You know, I'd looked at one before. And then I got an email from Sarah Albrecht, who is the head of the Liberty Justice Center, and the wonderful people who have taken our case pro bono. And they're the ones doing the heavy lifting, not me. I'm just the legal spokesmodel. So I read that. And of course, I'm completely confused because I don't know the legalese or the summary judgments. Is that good? Bad? I don't know. I immediately got in touch with a friend of mine who's a lawyer. He explained it, that it was very good. So just kind of been off to the races.
How did you become the spokesmodel for this lawsuit?
Because I'll tell you, I'll tell you, it is also strange and backdoor. It's like unintentional. This is in March. We're at brunch and we're talking about the tariffs because that was on everyone's mind. We're having a conversation with a cousin of my wife's. And He brought up the fact that his former law professor was bringing a case against the tariffs. And I said, wow, this is great because I wanted to give my two cents about what was going on in my business and in the wine business. You know, I got in touch with him right away and he got right back to me, got right back to me. And we had a wonderful conversation. I told him my tales of woe about being in the wine business and an importer in the world of threatened tariffs.
And he said, OK, fine. That sounds good. And then three days later, they asked if I would be the lead plaintiff. And that's when I got nervous. Well, what does that entail? Yeah. Let me talk to my wife and kids. And of course, they were all kind of nervous because the administration is known for being vengeful. And, you know, we're a heavily regulated business. We have a lot of business in front of the government, whether it's importation, FDA rules, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, label requirements. So it's like, well, should I do this? Should I not? You know, I don't really want to stick my neck out. And then I thought about all the billionaires that I'm just so pissed off about doing nothing. And I'm going, we're all sitting around.
We're all complaining. We're all saying, hey, what can we do about this? You know, what can I do? Everyone's feeling powerless. And I said, this just landed on my plate. If I don't step up, then how can I expect anybody else to? And I just felt it was incumbent upon me to do it and let the chips fall where they may.
You describe this as a tale of woe for a wine importer. I want to understand that better. A tale of woe, yes. Tell us the tale of woe.
Well, first of all, understand, you know, number one, we're a very heavily regulated business. So, for instance, we have to post our prices, our discounts, fixed with the state over a month in advance before we start selling. And we can't change them. So if, like, I've got a five-case price, $120 a case or something like that, I can't say, oh, it's a tariff. I'm going to change that to 150.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What led to the court ruling against Trump's tariffs?
0:01–1:43
2
How did Victor Schwartz become the lead plaintiff?
1:43–5:59
3
What challenges do wine importers face under tariffs?
5:59–12:08
4
What is the significance of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act?
12:08–14:50
5
What options does Trump have following the court ruling?
14:50–16:38
6
How did Victor celebrate the court ruling?
16:38–23:28