WASHINGTON — Two educational toy companies on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to quickly take up their challenge to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
The companies, Learning Resources and hand2mind, filed a joint appeal arguing that Trump had no power to impose the tariffs on goods from China under a law called the International Economic Powers Act.
They asked the court to leapfrog over a federal appeals court, which has yet to rule on the case, and agree to take the dispute up this month so it can schedule oral arguments this fall, possibly as early as September.
A federal judge in Washington had ruled the tariffs were unlawful but that ruling is on hold.
In a separate case, the Court of International Trade ruled against the administration over the president's tariffs authority. That decision is also blocked for now, meaning all the tariffs remain in effect while litigation continues.
"Even as these punishing tariffs cause American businesses and consumers to bleed billions of dollars each month, there will be no relief any time soon," the toy companies' lawyers said in court papers.
The issue is one of national consequence that the Supreme Court has to decide, they added, noting that it concerns whether the president can "unilaterally reshape the national economy and global trade policy."
