New York Spice Retailer Hails ‘Really Big Victory’ in Lawsuit Over Trump’s Tariffs

A New York-based online spice retailer is celebrating a major court victory over the Trump administration’s latest efforts to impose broad tariffs on imports.After the Supreme Court rejected the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose “Liberation Day” tariffs, President Trump quickly used Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a new global import surcharge of 10 percent.The United States Court of International Trade, on Thursday, ruled in Burlap and Barrel, Inc. v. Trump that the president’s tariffs proclamation “is invalid, and the tariffs imposed on Plaintiffs are unauthorized by law.”The court said Section 122 allows tariffs only when there are “large and serious balance-of-payment deficits,” which is not the same thing as a trade deficit. “We were thrilled and excited to see the ruling. It came through quickly as we hoped and expected,” a co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Burlap & Barrel, Ethan Frisch, told the New York Sun.A libertarian group that argued the case, the Liberty and Justice Center, called the decision a major victory for American businesses and consumers. It represented Burlap & Barrel and Basic Fun!, a Florida-based toy company, in more than three hours of arguments in front of the trade court.While the Section 122 tariffs automatically expire after 180 days, a lawyer for the group warned that the way the administration was defining “balance of payments” meant it could invoke Section 122 at any time, because there would always be a deficit on the books.“So it’s very important that the court issued the order, and the way it did, and as quickly as it did,” the Liberty Justice Center’s director of litigation, Jeffrey Schwab, said.Burlap & Barrel said it paid around $200,000 under the original tariff scheme and is still in the process of obtaining refunds. It said it paid about $60,000 under the newer Section 122 tariffs.The ruling only impacts the two companies involved in the lawsuit, but one of Burlap & Barrel’s founders thinks the ruling will lead the government to take down the tariffs for everyone.“These tariffs don’t just have direct action on small businesses, they actually have real consequences beyond it on our supply chains, on our partner farmers, and ultimately on consumers,” a co-founder and co-chief executive officer at Burlap & Barrel, Ori Zohar, said. “So this is a really big victory for us and we think this is the beginning, not the end of the litigation against these 122 tariffs.”The other company involved in the lawsuit called the decision an important win for American companies that rely on global manufacturing. “Unlawful tariffs make it harder for businesses like ours to compete and grow,” the chief executive officer of Basic Fun!, Jay Foreman, said in a statement. “This ruling brings needed clarity and stability for companies navigating global supply chains.”Oregon led a group of 24 Democrat-controlled states that also sued over the tariffs. “For the second time this year, Oregon has won a massive victory for Americans consumers and our Constitution,” Attorney General Dan Rayfield of Oregon said in a statement. “So long as President Trump continues to try to illegally tax Oregonians, we’ll continue to go to court to stop him.”The Trump administration will appeal the decision, the administration’s trade representative, Jamieson Greer said in a television interview on Friday. He remains confident in ultimately prevailing in the case.“President Trump has lawfully used the tariff authorities granted to him by Congress to address our balance of payments crisis,” a White House spokesman, Kush Desai, said in an emailed statement.The Liberty Justice Center, which was also involved in the Supreme Court tariff case, said it will be ready for whatever the administration does. “If we think that they are imposing illegal tariffs again, we will almost certainly challenge it,” Mr. Schwab said.

New York Spice Retailer Hails ‘Really Big Victory’ in Lawsuit Over Trump’s Tariffs

More from the New York Sun

‘The Receptionist’ Returns to an Office Where Cheerfully Banal Chatter Proves Deceptive

‘Python Hunt’ Colorfully Explores Searching for Snakes in Florida

Despite Rocky Past, Trump and Lula Boast of Successful White House Meeting on Trade, Drug Trafficking

More from the New York Sun

‘The Receptionist’ Returns to an Office Where Cheerfully Banal Chatter Proves Deceptive

‘Python Hunt’ Colorfully Explores Searching for Snakes in Florida

Despite Rocky Past, Trump and Lula Boast of Successful White House Meeting on Trade, Drug Trafficking

Unconditional Deadlines Should Be the Next Iranian Step

Beijing, Rather Than Islamabad, Is Driving Diplomacy To End Iran War

Stephen Breyer, One of America’s Liberal Lions, Emerges as Surprise Supporter of SCOTUS Shadow Docket

A Deep Dive Into Modern Masculinity in America

Appeals Circuits Split Over Rights of Aliens Who Are Here Illegally