A fresh legal fight is unfolding in the United States after two small businesses moved to challenge the latest wave of global tariffs introduced by Donald Trump.
The case, filed in New York, comes from spice importer Burlap & Barrel and toy manufacturer Basic Fun, both arguing that the administration cannot simply revive a sweeping 10% tax on imported goods by leaning on a different legal provision after the country’s top court had already dismantled an earlier version of the policy.
Their lawsuit claims the government is stretching an old trade statute far beyond its original purpose. According to the complaint, the law was designed decades ago to address currency-related crises, not routine trade imbalances. Using it to justify modern tariffs, the businesses say, amounts to a legal workaround rather than legitimate policy.
The challenge has been filed with the backing of the Liberty Justice Center, a legal nonprofit that has stepped in to represent the companies. It marks the first private-sector case aimed directly at blocking the new tariff framework.
Ethan Frisch, co-founder of Burlap & Barrel, warned that the consequences of sweeping tariffs fall hardest on smaller importers and the customers who buy their products. Sudden, across-the-board duties, he said, complicate business operations, disrupt supply chains for overseas farmers and producers, and ultimately raise prices for American households.
The legal action echoes arguments already raised by a group of 24 U.S. states that recently mounted their own challenge to the policy.
Trade tariffs have long been a cornerstone of Trump’s economic strategy, often deployed as leverage in negotiations with foreign governments. But the debate intensified after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that most of the earlier tariffs were unlawful. The court struck down duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, noting that the statute had historically never been used as a tool for imposing tariffs.
Now, with a new legal theory underpinning the latest tariffs, small businesses are asking the courts to once again decide where presidential trade powers end—and where the law draws the line.
