Latest news with #LearningResources
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Business owner speaks out on why he's suing Trump admin over tariff turmoil
Learning Resources CEO and Chairman Rick Woldenberg joins Ana Cabrera to share why he is suing the Trump administration over the tariffs and explains how the constant whiplash of the tariff policies is hurting his business. Woldenberg says it has been "harder" than the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
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Judge temporarily blocks Trump tariffs for Vernon Hills toy company
The Brief A federal judge temporarily exempted a Vernon Hills-based toy company from Trump-era tariffs, siding with the company's lawsuit challenging the president's authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The company, which owns Learning Resources and hand2mind, argued the tariffs threatened its survival and the jobs of about 500 employees in the U.S. and U.K. The ruling includes a two-week pause for appeal; the judge said the company would suffer irreparable harm without the injunction. VERNON HILLS, Ill. - A federal judge on Thursday ruled in favor of a Vernon Hills toy company, granting it a temporary reprieve from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, as a growing number of lawsuits continue to challenge the policy. The decision means that, for now, the Trump Administration is not permitted to collect tariffs from the business, which makes some of its toys in the United States but manufactures the majority of its products overseas. What we know The family-owned educational toy company, which consists of several brands including Learning Resources and hand2mind, called Thursday's ruling a major victory—sharing that excessive tariffs have the potential to put them out of business. With rising costs and ever-changing trade policies, small and mid-sized businesses like theirs are among those struggling to navigate the unpredictable nature of the economy. "We just don't know what tomorrow is going to bring," explained Elana Ruffman, VP of Marketing & Product Development with hand2mind. "How do we know as a manufacturer where we should make our products?" It's why the company is taking its concerns to court. In early April, Learning Resources and hand2mind sued President Donald Trump, arguing that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Trump invoked, does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. "We are an importer, about 60 percent of our products are made in China," Ruffman said. "The challenge with the reciprocal tariff policy, it was essentially a ban, there was no way you can import at those prices." A 33-page court opinion released Thursday sided with the company, stating that without preliminary injunction, the business "will sustain significant and unrecoverable losses." Furthermore, the federal judge also denied the Trump Administration's motion to transfer the lawsuit to the United States Court of International Trade (CIT). The ruling included a two-week pause anticipating an appeal from the Trump administration, which has already been filed. What they're saying Based in Vernon Hills, the toy company employs about 500 people in the United States and 50 others in the United Kingdom. Specializing in educational toys and resources, its products are used in about half of U.S. school districts, according to Ruffman. Ruffman, who is the fourth generation in her family to work at the company, shares that sweeping tariffs could be devastating to the business, but more importantly—to its employees. "We want to protect all the employees that work for us so that was why we decided to bring the lawsuit. We are a family business, we've been around for over 100 years, and we take our commitment very seriously," Ruffman said. "There are 500 people who work for us and their families depend on us for their livelihood and that's something that we don't mess around with." Ruffman adds that on a larger scale, rising prices and potential cutbacks caused by tariffs could limit children's access to educational toys worldwide. What's next Now, Ruffman says they will wait for the legal process to play out and tells FOX 32 Chicago she won't be surprised if the case makes it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. RELATED: Appeals court temporarily reinstates Trump tariffs
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal judge blocks 5 Trump tariff executive orders
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., sided with a Chicago-area toy company on Thursday, blocking five executive orders signed by President Donald Trump that imposed tariffs on Chinese imports. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras determined the International Economic Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize Trump to impose the tariffs in his executive orders. Contreras granted a motion for a preliminary injunction, filed by the toy company, Learning Resources, Inc., which will be stayed for 14 days in case the administration decides to appeal the decision. President Donald Trump's First 100 Days: Companies That Will Invest $1B Or More In The Us Trump announced his "Liberation Day" reciprocal tariff plan on April 2, imposing a 10% baseline tariff on all countries. In certain countries, hostile negotiations led to even higher levies, with taxes on Chinese imports reaching 145%. Read On The Fox News App Rick Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources, said in April the third-generation family business that had been manufacturing in China for four decades would face an almost 98% increase in its tariff bill. He said the $2.3 million the company paid in 2024 would jump to $100.2 million in 2025. Amazon Denies Tariff Pricing Plan That White House Called 'Hostile And Political' "I wish I had $100 million," Woldenberg wrote in a statement. "Honest to God, no exaggeration: It feels like the end of days." China produces 97% of America's imported baby carriages, 96% of its artificial flowers and umbrellas, 95% of its fireworks, 93% of its children's coloring books and 90% of its combs, according to a report from the Macquarie investment bank. Grocery Giant Warns Its Suppliers That Supermarket Won't Be Accepting Tariff-related Price Hikes On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled the administration overstepped its authority over tariffs under IEEPA. "The Constitution assigns Congress the exclusive powers to 'lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises,' and to 'regulate Commerce with foreign Nations,'" the court wrote in its opinion. "The question in the two cases before the court is whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 ('IEEPA') delegates these powers to the President in the form of authority to impose unlimited tariffs on goods from nearly every country in the world." Three judges, appointed by former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, and Trump, found IEEPA did not "confer such unbounded authority." Donald Trump Should Be Praised For Signals He Might Cool Tariff Fight, Washington Post Editorial Praises The Trump administration appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is unclear what goods will be subject to tariffs in the meantime, Reuters reported. "Foreign countries' nonreciprocal treatment of the United States has fueled America's historic and persistent trade deficits," White House spokesperson Kush Desai told FOX Business after the decision. "These deficits have created a national emergency that has decimated American communities, left our workers behind, and weakened our defense industrial base — facts that the court did not dispute." "It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency," Desai added. "President Trump pledged to put America First, and the Administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis and restore American Greatness." FOX Business' Greg Wehner and Bill Mears, and Reuters contributed to this article source: Federal judge blocks 5 Trump tariff executive orders
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Second federal court blocks Trump tariffs, this time for Illinois toy importers
WASHINGTON – A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from collecting tariffs from a pair of Illinois toy importers, the second court in two days to nullify President Donald Trump's top strategy for trade deals. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered the administration May 29 not to collect tariffs from Learning Resources and hand2mind based in Vernon Hills, Illinois, while the case is litigated. He paused the impact of his ruling to give the government two weeks to appeal his decision. The ruling came a day after the Court of International Trade overturned Trump's tariffs imposed April 2 on numerous countries. Contreras and the three-judge panel ruled that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) didn't grant Trump the authority to impose tariffs as he claimed. The statute "does not authorize the President to impose the tariffs," Contreras wrote in his two-page order. Learning Resources and hand2mind employ 500 people in Vernon Hills, Illinois; Torrance, California; and Amherst, New York. The companies import toys such as Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog, Peekaboo Learning Farm and Kanoodle from countries including China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and India. The toy companies say they survived COVID-19 but that the tariffs could kill them. They argued that Congress never authorized the president to impose huge tariffs on his own. 'That crushing burden is felt most immediately and acutely by this country's small and mid-size businesses, including Plaintiffs,' the lawsuit said. But government lawyers argued the IEEPA statute granted the president authority to "regulate importation," including by setting tariffs. Brett Shumate, a Justice Department lawyer, told Contreras during a hearing May 27 he should transfer the case to the Court of International Trade because of the expertise of those judges. 'If the court were to conclude otherwise, granting an injunction would kneecap the president on the world stage, cripple his ability to negotiate trade deals and imperil the government's ability to respond to future national emergencies,' Shumate said. 'Granting any form of relief against the president under IEEPA tariffs would be catastrophic for our national security and foreign policy.' A three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade overturned Trump's tariffs May 28. Government lawyers said they would appeal. (This is a developing story. Check back for details.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Second federal court blocks Trump tariffs - for Illinois toy importers
Fashion Network
3 days ago
- Business
- Fashion Network
Trump officials downplay court ruling that blocked sweeping tariffs
Meanwhile, a second U.S. court issued a preliminary ruling against the tariffs on Thursday, temporarily blocking them from going into effect in a case brought by educational toy maker Learning Resources. U.S. District Court Judge Rudy Contreras issued a narrower decision that did not block the tariffs completely, but he stopped the tariffs from being levied on the toy company and ruled that its challenge could remain in his Washington, D.C. federal court. The administration immediately asked an appeals court to stay Wednesday's trade court ruling and allow the tariff regime to remain in place. Trump has put tariffs at the center of his effort to extract concessions from U.S. trading partners, including traditional allies such as the European Union. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett expressed confidence that the ruling would ultimately be reversed in an interview with Fox Business Network on Thursday. He also said it would not get in the way of signing new trade deals. "If there are little hiccups here or there because of decisions that activist judges make, then it shouldn't just concern you at all, and it's certainly not going to affect the negotiations," Hassett said. Indeed, at least two sets of scheduled trade talks appeared unaffected by the ruling. Japan's trade negotiator is scheduled to meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington on Friday for a fourth round of talks, while India still plans to send a trade team to Washington next week for talks, an India trade official told Reuters. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a staunch proponent of higher tariffs, told Bloomberg TV that the Trump administration could rely on other laws to implement import taxes if the court's decision remains in place. Trump had invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law intended to address threats during national emergencies, to impose tariffs on almost every U.S. trading partner, raising fears of a global recession. The president temporarily suspended many of the tariffs until early July after markets swooned in response. The court found that the emergency powers law does not grant Trump the unilateral power to order such sweeping tariffs. Some sector-specific tariffs, such as those Trump has imposed on steel, aluminum and automobiles, were imposed under separate authorities on national security grounds and were unaffected by the ruling. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the decision, saying it was "consistent with Canada's longstanding position" that Trump's tariffs were unlawful. Other U.S. trading partners offered careful responses. The British government said the ruling was a domestic matter for the U.S. administration and noted it was "only the first stage of legal proceedings." Both Germany and the European Commission said they could not comment on the decision. Several analysts said it was preliminary to conclude this closes the door entirely on Trump's sweeping tariffs, with legal paths other than IEEPA likely at his disposal. "We suspect the administration will lean on other legal authorities to maintain tariff levels around current levels," Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. Some businesses and industry groups expressed exasperation amid continued uncertainty about how the tariff saga will play out. The ruling is "just another chapter in this difficult journey toward a clear, consistent and strategic trade policy," said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain for the National Retail Federation trade group. After prompting an initial surge in stocks in Asia, the ruling stimulated more muted reactions in Europe, where indexes were largely flat, and in the U.S., where gains were modest. The S&P 500 was up about 0.4%, having given back more than half of its initial rise at the opening bell. An early rally in the dollar also fizzled and the greenback was about 0.5% lower against a basket of major trading partner currencies. Bond yields also declined. Following a market revolt after his major tariff announcement on April 2, Trump paused most import duties for 90 days and said he would hammer out bilateral deals with trade partners. But apart from a pact with Britain this month, agreements remain elusive, and the court's suspension of the tariffs may dissuade countries like Japan from rushing into deals, analysts said. "Assuming that an appeal does not succeed in the next few days, the main win is time to prepare, and also a cap on the breadth of tariffs – which can't exceed 15% for the time being," George Lagarias, chief economist at Forvis Mazars international advisers, said. Trump's trade war has shaken makers of everything from luxury handbags and sneakers to household appliances and cars as the price of raw materials has risen, supply chains have been disrupted and company strategies redrafted. Drinks company Diageo, opens new tab and automakers General Motors, opens new tab and Ford are among those that have abandoned forecasts for the year ahead. Non-U.S. companies including Honda, opens new tab, Campari, and pharmaceutical companies Roche, and Novartis have said they are considering moving operations or expanding their U.S. presence to mitigate the impact of tariffs.
