Newsmax Legal Analyst Andrew Napolitano Says Little-Known Court Could Kill Trump Tariffs: ‘A Bona Fide Serious Challenge’

A legal analyst for Newsmax believes President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be in serious jeopardy thanks to a little-known court.

Appearing Tuesday on Newsmax’s Wake Up America, legal analyst Andrew Napolitano explained how the tariffs could be struck down by an obscure judicial body called the Court of International Trade — as a three-judge panel is set to rule on a case brought by wine importing outfit V.O.S. Selections, which is claiming that Trump does not have the authority to impose the tariffs.

“The wine importer likes to sell wine for $100 a bottle,” Napolitano said. “With the tariffs, the wine importer would have to sell that same bottle for $150, and he says it will put him out of business. The real argument is that the president doesn’t have the authority to impose the tariffs because he used a statute that requires an emergency. An emergency is a sudden and unexpected event. The emergency that President Trump suggested was the basis for the tariffs was the imbalance of trade — which is not an emergency because we’ve had it since 1934. That’s the argument in a nutshell.

“The other argument is a tariff is a sales tax, and under the Constitution, only Congress can impose a tax. So if Congress wants to impose the tariffs, this wine company and everybody else is stuck with them. But the president doesn’t have the authority to do it on his own.”

Napolitano noted that the Court of International Trade is so obscure that even many lawyers and judges haven’t heard of it. But their authority is very real.

“They could stop the tariffs like that,” Napolitano said, snapping his fingers.

Congress created the Court of International Trade in 1980 and gave it jurisdiction over cases involving foreign trade. Six different presidents have appointed a total of 14 judges to the court — three of whom will rule on the V.O.S. Selections case. Napolitano suggested the court may unilaterally stop the tariffs — which would force Congress to weigh in before the tariffs could be implemented.

“If they find the president acted unconstitutionally, they will stop the tariffs across the board and kick it back to Congress,” Napolitano said. “Then Trump has to craft legislation, and then he has to propose it to Congress, and in the interim, all those tariffs stop. On the other hand, if they say, this is a foreign policy issue, even though it is a sales tax, we’re not going to interfere with foreign policy. If you don’t like what we said, appeal us.”

According to Napolitano, this case is anything but frivolous.

“It’s a bona fide, serious challenge that the DOJ is taking seriously — because the White House is a little ill-at-ease over it,” he said.

Watch above, via Newsmax.