Vernon Hills toy company sues Trump administration over new tariffs

VERNON HILLS, Ill. - The Trump administration is already facing new lawsuits following Friday's announcement of a new round of sweeping tariffs.

The tariffs range from 10% to 12.5% and target 60 trading partners — including Mexico, Canada and China.

One of those lawsuits was filed by the same Vernon Hills toy company that previously challenged President Donald Trump’s authority to impose tariffs.

Vernon Hills toy company files new lawsuit over tariffs

The backstory:

In February 2026, Learning Resources scored a monumental victory over the Trump administration after taking its fight against tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now, the family-owned educational toy company, which is home to several brands, is waging another legal battle.

"This is a very personal issue to us because we are an employer in the local community," said Elana Woldenberg Ruffman, vice president of marketing & product development for the company. 

The local employer argues that the Trump administration is illegally using Section 301 in a third attempt to recreate the broad global tariffs already struck down by the courts.

Company executives also say the administration is using forced-labor concerns to justify the tariffs without evidence to support its claims.

"The administration is trying to create companies like ours into tax collectors," Woldenberg Ruffman said. "Having a tax bill increase overnight by 10x is not sustainable. That would destroy our business."

Woldenberg Ruffman says this will translate into higher prices on store shelves across various industries. 

"Before this administration, we paid about $2 million in tariffs annually. If the tariffs that were put into place under Section 301 on Friday were to remain, we expect that our tariff bill would become $20 million to $25 million annually," Woldenberg Ruffman explained. "This is a significant economic issue, which is going to create billions of dollars in taxes, and we believe the courts will act quickly because of the impact."

What's next:

At least two other small businesses based in New York have also filed lawsuits challenging the latest round of tariffs.

The U.S. Court of International Trade will decide whether to combine the cases.

No court dates have been set yet.