Two toy companies on Tuesday filed a request with the Supreme Court challenging the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, arguing the president did not have the legal authority to enact such sweeping change without congressional approval.
Hand2mind and Learning Resources, two educational toy companies in Illinois, have asked the Supreme Court to expedite their request and have urged the justices to rule on if the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, gives a president the power to impose tariffs without Congress.
"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 (even on an expedited timeline)," lawyers for the companies wrote in their filing.
In April, the Trump administration imposed a 20% tariff on all goods coming from the European Union, 25% from Mexico, and up to 145% on Chinese goods.
The U.S. has paused the taxes to allow 90 days for negotiations for some nations that will expire on July 8. While a 10% tariff remains in place for most items, the U.S. recently agreed to drop tariffs on Chinese goods to 55%.
Last month, a panel of judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade blocked Trump's tariffs even as the White House has already negotiated some of the duties originally put in place. A federal appeals court promptly stayed the ruling, allowing the duties to remain while the legal challenges continued.
Attorneys with the Department of Justice have defended the administration's actions under an invocation of the IEEPA, enacted in 1977, saying that Congress grants the president the authority to impose some tariffs under the guise of a national emergency.
The toy company lawsuit is separate from another challenge filed in New York by a collation of 12 business including a New York liquor distributor, Utah pipe company, Virginia electronics store, Pennsylvania tackle shop, and Vermont cycling company.
The businesses are arguing that their reliance on imports from countries such as China and Mexico will uniquely harm their companies and call the administration move an "unprecedented power grab."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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