Like generations of Cornell seniors, Victor Schwartz ’80 took Intro to Wines during his final semester on the Hill. But when he was sitting in a packed lecture hall on Friday mornings—learning about grapes, vintages, and terroir from legendary professor Vance Christian ’61, MS ’65—he could never have suspected that 45 years later, he’d become the global face of a key court case impacting the U.S. wine import industry.
Schwartz’s small, family-run firm, VOS Selections, was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that the Liberty Justice Center filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade in mid-April 2025, challenging the sweeping import tariffs instituted by the Trump Administration.
In late May, a three-judge panel ruled unanimously in favor of the plaintiffs—deciding that the tariffs had exceeded the scope of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, under which the administration had instituted them.
And while a federal appeals court temporarily halted the ruling two days later—and the legal process is ongoing, potentially all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court—the news instantly thrust Schwartz and his company into the international spotlight.
For Schwartz—an Arts & Sciences econ major who’s married to a fellow Cornellian, Cushla Naegele ’80—the media attention has been dizzying and unrelenting. He has fielded interview requests from just about every major U.S. newspaper and broadcaster, plus reporters from France, Italy, and beyond.
But just days after the ruling, Schwartz was gracious enough to make time for a few questions from Cornellians.
