Khaberni - While major American companies remained silent, a small trader in New York took an unprecedented step to confront President Donald Trump, who raised tariffs to levels not seen in the United States since the 1930s.
The American news network "CNN" stated that Victor Schwartz, owner of the company (VOS Selections) in New York, was the main reason for the Supreme Court's decision to cancel the exorbitant tariffs imposed by Trump.
The network added: "Since Trump announced his plans to raise tariffs in April 2025, Schwartz felt that small businesses like his simply could not afford these high tariffs, or raise prices like large companies do."
He said: "We simply cannot raise our prices, nor can we pay the tariffs, unlike large companies, which can easily afford them."
One of Victor's family members reached out to the Liberty Justice Center, a liberal-oriented nonprofit legal organization, to pursue the case.
Schwartz joined the case initially as a participant, but later became the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit known as (VOS Selections, Inc. v. Trump).
The lawsuit focused on challenging the unilateral use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose emergency tariffs, which Schwartz considered a blatant violation of executive powers and a direct threat to his business.
In the end, Schwartz achieved a historic victory, after the Supreme Court issued its ruling on Friday evening, ruling that Trump's emergency tariffs were illegal.
It is estimated that this victory could allow importers to recover massive amounts totaling up to 134 billion dollars in paid tariffs.
But the victory did not come without a personal cost, as Schwartz revealed that he had been subjected to ongoing attacks via text messages and emails.
As small companies could not bear the high cost of tariffs like large companies, he stood alone against the economic policy, which he considered threatening to the survival of his business, according to the report.
Rick Woldenberg, the CEO of (Learning Resources), also participated in the case, expressing his pride in participating despite the high legal costs that exceeded seven figures, affirming that he wanted his name in the case because he had done nothing wrong.
Experts indicate that many large companies benefited from the risks taken by Schwartz and Woldenberg, as they filed claims to recover tariffs without risking their reputation, while Schwartz described this as "the spark that started the fire," affirming that he is proud of his role.
Despite the judicial victory, Schwartz remains concerned about other tariffs that Trump might impose, but he sees that they will have limited scope and duration, which reduces the impact of risks on small companies.
