A US-based juice company is suing over President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose a steep 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian imports starting next month.
Johanna Foods, a major importer of orange juice, filed a lawsuit Friday in the US Court of International Trade in New York, saying that the measure, announced in a July 9 letter from Trump to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, threatened to upend its business and sharply drive up prices for American consumers.
Trump has used tariffs aggressively to shape trade policy. In justifying the tariff on Brazil, he cited factors including what he called an unfair trade relationship and a “witch hunt” trial against Brazil’s former right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, a close ally.
Johanna Foods’ complaint argues that such factors do not meet the legal threshold for invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which gives the president broad authority to regulate international economic transactions during a declared national emergency.
The complaint said the tariffs would increase Johanna Foods’ annual import costs by $68 million and lead to retail price hikes of up to 25 per cent.
New York Times News Service
