My name is Rick Woldenberg. I run a family-owned toy company. I sued President Donald Trump over tariffs. And I won at the Supreme Court. Here’s why.
My company, Learning Resources, was founded by my grandfather in 1916. We have always been located in northern Illinois. We have a small presence in California, through a company in LA called Educational Insights, founded in 1962, which we bought in 2006.
All of my children work for Learning Resources. We are a mission-driven business. We create products for schools and families to help their kids get a good start in life.
We have 500 employees in the United States. Much of our manufacturing takes place in China.
We have tried for a decade, without success, tofind a way to make our toys in the United States. None of the other 2,000 companies that make toys in this country have found a way, either.
We aren’t cynical people; we have strong values. But we can only sell our products at prices that consumers will pay.
You cannot earn a livable wage in this country through the hand assembly of toys. And so this is just not the right place to make them.
I anticipated Trump’s tariffs — somewhat. I moved about 16% of our production out of China, and to Vietnam and India instead. I did not anticipate the scale of the tariffs — up to 145%, at one point — or that the president would light all our supply chains on fire.
Trump’s actions were unprecedented. Moreover, the rules seemed arbitrary, changing every 24 to 48 hours.
After the Supreme Court decision, the president announced 10% tariffs on Friday, and raised them to 15% on Saturday. This has been going on for a full year.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
