One small business is done playing.
Learning Resources and hand2mind, the family-owned, Illinois-based companies that also produce toys and games under the Educational Insights and Brightkins brands, have filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia challenging President Donald J. Trump’s asserted authority to impose tariffs on imports under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”).
LEARNING RESOURCES, INC. et al v. TRUMP et al, alleges that the President and members of his administration have overstepped their legal bounds in “an extraordinary Executive Branch power grab.”
In documents reviewed by The Toy Book, Learning Resources and hand2mind name President Trump, Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury, Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce, Peter R. Flores, Acting Commissioner of Customs & Border Protection, and Jamieson Greer, U.S. Trade Representative, as defendants.
“These tariffs have had a devastating effect on our companies and threaten our ability to serve our customers and help children learn and grow,” Learning Resources and hand2mind said in a statement. “With the current tariff policy in place, our products will quickly become too expensive for schools and families to afford. That’s why we’ve chosen to assert our rights in court and stand up for our employees and the communities, schools, and families who rely on us as a partner in education.”
The 37-page filing challenges five IEEPA Orders and calls for Congress to rein in the administration and end the destructive tariffs, many of which were issued under a China IEEPA Order tied to curbing illegal drug trade.
“Imposing tariffs on legal goods has no sufficient connection to combating illegal narcotics. Most critically, the costs of tariffs on legal goods lawfully imported into the United States are primarily borne by Americans; there is no reason why such tariffs and the corresponding harm to American businesses will alter the behavior of the cartels, drug-smuggling rings, and other organizations that bring illegal substances into our country,” the filing says.
Among other relief methods, Learning Resources and hand2mind have asked the Court to declare the tariffs unlawful and that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose the tariffs outlined in the Challenged Orders.
This week’s lawsuit follows executives from Walmart, Target, and Home Depot meeting with President Trump to discuss tariffs, and others advocating for an end to the tariffs on Capitol Hill.
The Toy Book will continue to monitor this case and other tariff-related news as we have it. Click here for our entire tariff archive.
