But for Schwartz, the lawsuit had consequences that went beyond his business activities. “I’m constantly being attacked in text messages and emails. It’s bad, but it could be worse. We’re locking the doors in the office now.”
The entrepreneur imports wines and spirits from 16 countries. He knows about tariffs and how quickly they can change, especially since Trump has been in office. Since the tariff announcement, he has had to check every price in his range four times. “We can’t just raise our prices, and we just can’t afford it, unlike big companies who can just write a check,” he added. Since April, he estimates that he has had to pay at least six-figure sums in tariffs.
The latest ruling also raised the question of whether companies would be compensated by the US government. The US government has collected $134 billion from the tariffs, which have now been declared illegal. It is questionable whether and, above all, how these will be paid back to small companies such as Schwartz’s wine trade. And despite the verdict, the businessman cannot breathe a sigh of relief. After the verdict was announced, Trump announced new tariffs, this time 15 percent.
Schwartz is aware of the risk of going against the most powerful man in the world. “We try to suppress our fear, but are still aware of the challenges that are out there,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz doesn’t mind that the American economy is benefiting from the risk he’s taken on its behalf: “So it takes a little match to light the fire. Okay, I’m happy to accept that. I won’t feel bad about it. I’ll be proud of it.”
Rick Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources, the other company that sued against the tariffs, feels the same way. He takes great pride in challenging the Trump administration’s tariffs. “The math was simple: I couldn’t afford the tax they wanted to impose on me,” Woldenberg told CNN. However, unlike Schwartz, he had to cover his own legal fees, which amounted to a “seven-figure amount.” “I wanted my name to appear in this lawsuit. I did nothing wrong,” Woldenberg said.
