Wall Street Journal 2.20.2026
WSJ: Wine Importer Who Sued Over Tariffs Says Ruling Is Like Winning a ‘Gold Medal’
Victor Owen Schwartz, a small wine importer and distributor, is the lead plaintiff in one of the tariff lawsuits. He was sitting at his dining room table with his wife when the Supreme Court ruling came in.
“I think I know what it feels like to win a Gold Medal,” said Schwartz. “It is an unbelievable feeling on so many levels.”
While Schwartz is still parsing all the details of the Supreme Court decision with his attorneys at Liberty Justice Center, he said he hopes, at a minimum, that the tariffs will be stopped.
Schwartz reduced his inventory by 25% in response to the Trump administration’s tariffs and said the contraction in business has been significant. “It’s been a black hole for cash flow,” he said.
The extra costs have been particularly painful for small businesses, Schwartz added.
“This is a fight for survival. For us, it’s existential,” he said. “For large companies, it’s more of a blip. Pay the fine and go on. We can’t do that. When your back is against the wall like that, your whole business is at stake.”
– Ruth Simon
