Are Trump's Tariffs Coming Back to Bite Him?

Trump sued by over 1000 brands on tariffs

The imposition of Trump’s tariffs last year had unprecedented impact on our industry. There is international potential for losses across the supply chain. That said, the impact is most immediate in the US. As such, over 1000 brands have sued Trump preemptively over the losses over the past year. The Supreme Court ruling has been pushed forward once more, to January 14, months after cases were originally heard.

The coverage is less on the impact on the complex supply chains, corporate conflicts and indecision in the Supreme Court, than it is on the man himself. It is as though the lawsuits come straight to his desk with a note that says ‘don’t take it personally!’.

The tariffs, potentially illegitimate, or even illegal, were put in place with an invocation of the IEEPA, permitting the president in the position of an emergency to put in place protectionist economic policies. I had been there from the off that the ‘emergency’ was indeterminate, and the tariffs illegitimate. But it took until two months ago, with the involvement of those on the back-bench for there to be the confidence for others to come forward in litigation. Some companies, particularly those with public profiles, withheld their stances on the tariffs when they were first imposed, fearing political blowback. But this has not proven useful, with no special consideration from Trump for those who ‘sat pretty’. It is was unlikely for any such companies to be pardoned from the tariffs.

That the brands will be reimbursed immediately is unlikely, but not unprecedented. Over 1000 of the plaintiffs are brands in our industry, which would set a precedent for a reimbursement of this scale, and the impact on the supply chains with international implications.