U.S.-Based Orange Juice Importer Sues Over Trump's 50% Tariff on Brazilian Goods [View all]
Source: New York Times
July 21, 2025, 7:09 p.m. ET
A U.S.-based juice company is suing over President Trump’s pledge to impose a steep 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imports starting next month. Johanna Foods Inc., a major importer of orange juice, filed a lawsuit on Friday in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, saying that the measure, announced in a July 9 letter from Mr. Trump to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, threatened to upend its business and sharply drive up prices for American consumers.
Mr. 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.
“There is no unusual or extraordinary threat,” the company said in the complaint, pointing to the lack of a formal executive order or declaration of national emergency. The complaint also said that the letter to Mr. Lula did not constitute an executive order. 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 percent. Johanna Beverage Co., a related company based in Washington State, is also listed as a plaintiff.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/us/politics/orange-juice-trump-brazil-tariffs.html
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Link to COMPLAINT (PDF) - https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rK.XopmtHIU4/v0
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