If you’re interested in high-quality wines and spirits from around the world, there are a number of dedicated importers located around the U.S. working to bring an international selection to the domestic market. However, most of them cannot say that they have played a key role in upending their country’s trade policies. In the case of VOS Selections, however, that is one distinction the company has absolutely earned.
As Ryan Kost reports at Gothamist, the company was the lead plaintiff in one of two Supreme Court cases that found that the Trump administration’s tariff policy was unconstitutional. The ruling in that case, Trump v. VOS Selections, was announced in late February; VOS Selections was backed by the nonprofit group Liberty Justice Center in the case.
“The Liberty Justice Center is proud to have led the fight to challenge these illegal tariffs that devastated small businesses around the country,” said the organization’s chair, Sara Albrecht, in a statement. “Federal courts at every level have now recognized that these tariffs, imposed without Congressional authorization, are unlawful and cannot stand.”
As VOS Selections founder Victor Schwartz explained, the combined effects of the Trump administration’s tariffs and the position of the dollar put his 39-year-old company in an uncertain place. “I thought the idea of business should be expanding, but it’s been contracting,” he told Gothamist.
Tariffs Are Complicating Things for Restaurants and Home Cooks Alike
Companies small and large face existential questionsThe Supreme Court has ruled in the company’s favor, but there’s another question on the horizon: what will happen to the money collected for tariffs that were subsequently ruled unconstitutional? Based on Gothamist’s analysis, the answer will likely involve additional legal battles. For now, Schwartz and his company are taking a deserved victory lap. And if their role in the case helps draw more eyes to their wine and spirits selection — these French single malts look particularly intriguing — that can’t hurt, either.
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