The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared poised to block the Mexican government’s effort to hold U.S. gun companies accountable for the havoc and violence the country has experienced at the hands of drug cartels armed with firearms trafficked across the southern border.

The legal battle marks the first time that the Supreme Court will consider a federal law known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA. Enacted with bipartisan support from Congress in 2005, the law provides a legal shield for gun companies from civil suits seeking to hold them liable for harms stemming from the criminal misuse of their products by another person.

But the case, known as Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, also lands before the high court as it has emerged as a bargaining tool in negotiations between President Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. The Trump administration has designated Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups and imposed 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico. Sheinbaum warned last month that if the U.S. declared the cartels as terrorists, her government would expand its lawsuit against the American gunmakers.