Top US Retailers Balked at Challenging Trump Tariffs in Court

The Friday before President Donald Trump’s April 2 announcement of across-the-board tariffs, the top lawyer for one of the biggest US retail industry groups updated members on planning for a potential lawsuit over the trade levies.

Those efforts had been put on hold, said Deborah White, general counsel for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, even though the group’s research indicated a legal case had a good chance of succeeding on the merits.

“However, given the current climate, the members of our groups were unwilling to proceed despite the heightened economic uncertainty caused by the various shifting EO’s and pronouncements,” White wrote in the March 28 email seen by Bloomberg News. She said the group had “officially paused” its efforts a week earlier.

The email, which hasn’t been previously reported, illustrates how the nation’s largest corporations have become wary of directly opposing the Trump administration, even on a critical economic issue. RILA’s board of directors includes the chief executive officers of Target Corp., Best Buy Co., Home Depot Inc., AutoZone Inc., Dollar General Corp. and other retailers expected to be hit hard by tariffs.

RILA declined to comment on the email.

White said more than 30 other groups RILA contacted had also balked at suing over the tariffs. As of Tuesday afternoon, no industry group had filed a legal challenge. A lawsuit was filed Thursday in Florida by a conservative-backed legal group, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, on behalf of stationery company Simplified.

‘Willing’ Law Firms

In her email, White also noted the potential challenge of finding law firms willing to bring suits over tariffs in light of Trump’s attacks on some of the biggest names in the legal profession.

“Given the multiple EO’s that have been lodged at law firms, it’s not clear which firms would be willing to do so,” she said.

RILA and two other trade groups had been developing a strategy to challenge Trump’s authority to impose tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, White said in her email. Many legal scholars believe that Trump’s claim of an “emergency” isn’t justified under the law. The NCLA also accused Trump of improperly asserting emergency powers.

White suggested RILA would wait and see what happened on April 2. Trump’s announced tariff’s were more far-reaching than many had expected, and companies across industries are still weighing next steps. Some are expecting to raise the prices of their products, while others are assessing the exact impact of the tariffs on their businesses.

White expressed hope that “another plaintiff might pick up the mantle,” allowing RILA members to “observe from a distance.”

On Friday, the group issued a statement in support of NCLA’s suit.

--With assistance from Paige Smith and Lily Meier.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Jaewon Kang in Chicago at jkang351@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Anthony Lin at alin364@bloomberg.net

Emily Cohn

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