A majority of the judges appeared to doubt Mexico's claim that it could prove a direct link between arms manufacturers and drug cartel violence.
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Most judges may be skeptical of the case, but it allowed the Mexican government to make the argument that American companies bear some of the blame for drug cartel violence.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed skepticism about the Mexican government's ability to sue U.S. arms manufacturers over claims they share blame for drug cartel violence.
Mexico argued that the U.S. gun industry was responsible for the violence by creating and selling firearms that found their way across the border into the hands of criminal gangs. Arguing that the violence was a direct result of the gunmakers' actions, Mexico's lawyer told the judges that the country should be able to bring suit despite a 2005 law barring most lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun-related injuries.
But Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh seemed to sum up the concerns about the lawsuit by asking about the broader implications if Mexico were to prove that legal producers could be held liable for the cartels’ illegal behavior. He feared that such an outcome could have “devastating consequences for the American economy.”
“Many sellers and manufacturers of common products know that some groups of people will misuse them,” Judge Kavanaugh said, referring to automakers and pharmaceutical companies.
Video transcriptBackbars0:00/0:38-0:00
transcript
What do you do with the suggestion, on the other hand and in the amicus briefs, that your aiding and abetting theory of liability is going to have devastating effects on the American economy in the sense that, as you read in the briefs, many sellers and manufacturers of common products know that they're going to be misused by some subset of people. They know for sure that it's going to be pharmaceuticals, automobiles, you name a lot of products. So I think that's the real problem for me in accepting your aiding and abetting theory of liability.
The unusual lawsuit was filed by the judges at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries. Earlier in the day, the Trump administration imposed tough U.S. tariffs on Mexico. President Trump cited drug trafficking from Mexico to the U.S. as one of the reasons for his decision to impose trade sanctions and sought to label the cartels as terrorist groups.
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Source: nytimes.com
