Trump’s tariffs to face legal test before U.S. Supreme Court next week

By Canadian Press on October 28, 2025.

WASHINGTON — Victor Owen Schwartz started his business importing wine and spirits to the United States with his mother nearly 40 years ago.

Now he is the lead plaintiff in a court case that could throw a legal roadblock in front of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to realign global trade through tariffs.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next week from businesses and states that say Trump’s use of a national security statute — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — to hit nearly every nation with tariffs is illegal.

The hearing combines two cases pushing back on Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” tariffs and his fentanyl-related duties on Canada, Mexico and China.

Schwartz says the Trump administration is playing with small business owners’ livelihoods and he has to make impossible decisions every time the tariffs change.

Jeffrey Schwab of the Liberty Justice Center, which is representing Schwartz, says Trump is using the national security statute as a “blank cheque” even though it doesn’t mention the word tariff.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press