Court Rules Trump Tariffs Unlawful… Again, but the Battle Plays On

As the U.S. workforce heads into Labor Day weekend, the legal scuffle between business owners and the Trump Administration continues.

The latest chapter in the nonstop back-and-forth is a ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit deeming that the majority of tariffs issued as part of the so-called “Liberation Day” are unlawful. The 127-page decision (read it here) stems from a case involving several companies — including MicroKits, a maker of STEM products — and multiple states challenging the President’s use of “emergency powers” to wage an international trade war. The ruling upholds a previous decision from the U.S. Court of International Trade that the Administration had appealed.

We’ve seen this play before, so expect further challenges as the likelihood of a Supreme Court showdown grows.

For now, tariffs remain in effect until at least Oct. 14 as President Donald Trump and his team mount the next wave of their defense. The President took to his Truth Social platform this evening, calling the ruling “highly partisan” and confirming that “all tariffs are still in effect.”

While the consumer impact is just emerging, the toy and game industries have been hit hard this year, with companies of all sizes enacting layoffs and furloughs since April. Mitigation strategies remain a moving target amid the Administration’s calls to “reshore” products that were never manufactured domestically in the first place. Most recently, companies that moved production from China to India were hit with a 50% tariff, while China’s current rate stands at the still-too-high 30%.

The Toy Book will continue monitoring developments and report updates as they come.