Two Illinois-based toy companies are asking the Supreme Court to hear their challenge to President Donald Trump’s China tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law.
Learning Resources Inc. and hand2mind filed a joint appeal to the Supreme Court Tuesday asking the Court to take up the Trump tariffs case and leapfrog an appeals court where the case is pending.
The companies are fighting Trump’s China tariffs that he implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 law granting the president the ability to impose certain economic measures in response to foreign threats. The law applies to actions such as embargoes and sanctions, but says nothing about tariffs or other tax-related matters.
Learning Resources and hand2mind are hoping the Supreme Court considers the petition at its next conference later this month so it can start oral arguments as early as September.
“In light of the tariffs’ massive impact on virtually every business and consumer across the Nation, and the unremitting whiplash caused by the unfettered tariffing power the President claims, challenges to the IEEPA tariffs cannot await the normal appellate process,” the companies said in court papers.
“This Court should grant certiorari before judgment now so this case can be briefed over the summer and argued as soon as possible.”
A federal judge in D.C. ruled in favor of the plaintiffs last month and declared Trump’s tariffs unlawful. His ruling only applied to the specific companies, but could open the door to litigation from other business impacted by Trump’s levies. The D.C. decision is currently on hold as the federal government appeals, keeping the tariffs in place for now.
Before that, a federal trade court blocked Trump from imposing tariffs under the IEEPA, but an appeals court similarly paused the ruling while the Trump administration fights it. Tariffs are a central part of Trump’s economic agenda and a tool he believes is necessary to fix decades of unfair trade practices against the U.S.
In April, the president imposed sweeping global tariffs on many nations worldwide, causing markets to fall precipitously and generating panic among business owners. The market spiral prompted Trump to pause most of the tariffs for 90 days as the administration negotiates trade deals with other nations.
Trump separately enacted tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China over the trafficking of fentanyl across the U.S. southern border. A tit-for-tat trade war between the U.S. and China brought American tariffs up to 145 percent on Chinese goods.
Trump said earlier this month that the U.S. and China agreed to a deal to lower American tariffs to 55 percent and reduce Chinese tariffs to 10 percent, while allowing China to supply rare earth minerals and granting Chinese students permission to attend American universities.