Family Toy Company Wins Supreme Court Battle Against Trump Trade Tariffs

A small Illinois educational toy company that imports from China became a central player in a major Supreme Court victory against Trump's tariffs. Learning Resources paid $10 million in duties and had to shrink operations, but now could receive billions in refunds along with other importers.

A family-owned educational toy company found itself at the center of a major Supreme Court victory after challenging former President Trump’s trade tariffs in what started as a long-shot legal battle.

Rick Woldenberg, who has led Learning Resources Inc for almost 30 years, never expected to become involved in high-stakes litigation when he took over the family business. However, his company became one of the key players in a Supreme Court decision announced Friday that overturned Trump’s tariff policies implemented under emergency economic powers legislation.

The high court ruled against the former president’s sweeping tariff program after numerous importers, state governments, and other entities filed legal challenges. Learning Resources, headquartered in Illinois and specializing in educational toys imported primarily from China, was among the first small companies to file suit against the tariffs in April of last year.

The ruling could result in billions of dollars being returned to importers like Learning Resources, though the Supreme Court left questions about the timing and process of such refunds unanswered.

“My hope is that this ruling is an opportunity for everyone to take a breath and think about what is important and what needs to get done,” Woldenberg said Friday in an interview with Reuters.

The White House has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the court’s decision.

Companies like Learning Resources and its affiliated business hand2mind make up approximately 97% of all U.S. importers, bringing in roughly $868 billion in goods each year, based on a 2025 Chamber of Commerce study. That same report characterized Trump’s tariff policies as an existential threat to small importing businesses.

Woldenberg quickly became a vocal opponent of the trade duties shortly after Trump announced them last April. After his company secured a victory in federal district court in June, Learning Resources petitioned the Supreme Court for expedited review of the case.

“I decided that I would have a lot harder time dealing with not acting than acting,” Woldenberg explained in a Thursday interview, emphasizing that he viewed his legal fight as non-partisan.

“It’s about taxes,” he stated. “They owe us money… every American agrees we pay too much in taxes, and no one will want to pay a tax they don’t have to pay.”

Legal experts caution that Friday’s Supreme Court ruling doesn’t resolve all issues, as the refund process will likely be lengthy and complicated. They also note that Trump could potentially pursue tariffs through alternative legal mechanisms.

The toy industry runs deep in Woldenberg’s family history. His mother established Learning Resources in 1984, building on a business foundation laid by Woldenberg’s grandfather over 100 years ago.

The company, along with hand2mind, produces educational products including Alphabet Coffee Cups designed to teach children the difference between capital and lowercase letters, and Numberblocks, a mathematics learning toy based on a popular British television program.

With approximately 500 workers and distribution to around 100 nations worldwide, Learning Resources conducts most of its manufacturing in China, which faced some of the harshest tariff penalties. Woldenberg estimates his company paid about $10 million in tariff fees during 2025 alone.

The financial burden forced the company to abandon expansion projects, including plans for an additional 600,000 square feet of warehouse and office facilities in Illinois. Staff members were reassigned from their regular duties to work on restructuring the company’s supply network. Marketing strategies, sales initiatives, and product development all required immediate overhauls.

“The company went from trying to innovate to trying to react and survive. It spent less. It took in less. We shrank last year,” he explained.

A central element of Woldenberg’s opposition campaign focused on demonstrating the real-world difficulties of the Trump administration’s push for companies to relocate manufacturing operations back to American soil.

“Moving a supply chain out of a country on an emergency basis, as if bombs are falling on your head, is a project no one is prepared for,” he said.

The manufacturing process for his company’s toys requires more than 30 injection molding machines, each weighing several tons, that heat plastic and force it into thousands of steel molds. Relocating such equipment would cost enormous amounts of money and present nearly impossible logistical challenges, requiring dozens of flatbed transport trucks and multiple cranes, according to Woldenberg.

Beyond equipment concerns, there’s the matter of skilled workers. Woldenberg’s manufacturing partner in China has years of toy-making experience, employing highly trained staff capable of meeting the toy industry’s strict safety requirements. Building similar expertise elsewhere could require months or even years, he noted.

Following the court victory, Woldenberg is eager to return his company’s focus to normal business operations after dedicating much of the past year to legal proceedings. He remains optimistic that Learning Resources will recover the tariff payments it made to the government.

“And as soon as they do, we’ll start spending it,” he said. “We want to run our company again.”