 |
|
THE DOCKET
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for future updates.
|
|
|
|
In the past few months, President Trump declared several national emergencies to impose a series of broad and ever-shifting tariffs on nearly every country on earth.
Now, Americans are reeling—facing potentially devastating increases in costs and paralyzing uncertainty about the future.
Thankfully, several business owners decided to take a stand, and we’re proud to have joined them in their fight. Because this is a complex case with big stakes, we’re dedicating this week’s Docket to giving you the full story of our fight against these unconstitutional tariffs.
|
|
|
HERE'S WHAT'S ON THE DOCKET.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Yesterday, Pacific Legal Foundation attorneys filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Jamey Stegmaier (co-founder of Stonemaier Games), Rebecca Melsky and Eva St. Clair (founders of Princess Awesome & Boy Wonder), Quent and Linda Cordair (founders of Quent Cordair Fine Art), and Pete Paulin (founder of 300 Below) along with several other small businesses challenging the constitutionality of President Trump’s tariffs in the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Jamey, Rebecca, Eva, Pete, and the Cordairs represent the fabric of the American economy. Through their grit and determination, they’ve built beloved businesses across entertainment, fashion, fine art—even cutting-edge technology critical for defense and aerospace systems.
They are the embodiment of the American dream, and they should be free to pursue their dreams without the threat of chaotic, unchecked government interference.
|
|
Read More →
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
The Trump administration’s recent tariffs have sparked panic across American industries. But these tariffs deal a particularly hard blow to the $2.9 billion American board game industry. Publishers, including PLF client Jamey Stegmaier (co-founder of Stonemaier Games), say there simply isn’t a way to manufacture their games in the United States.
“The types of components in many modern hobby games aren’t made at scale in the U.S.,” Jamey wrote in a blog post. “Even the components that can be made here—printed components—aren’t made using the quality or variety as they are in China.”
Now, following Jamey’s call to action, XYZ Game Labs, Spielcraft Games, Rookie Mage Games, and TinkerHouse Games are all joining the fight.
|
|
Read More →
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
President Trump’s tariffs—and the statutory authority he’s errantly wielding to justify them—may be new, but the executive branch’s habit of claiming powers it doesn’t rightly possess is not.
As PLF’s Kyle Griesinger points out: “We’ve spent decades bringing cases to revive the ‘nondelegation doctrine,’ the legal principle that Congress cannot delegate its constitutional power to make law to anyone else, including the president and executive branch agencies.”
|
|
Read More →
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Did you know most Americans have lived their entire lives under an emergency declaration? Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan recently observed (when there were 43 ongoing national “emergencies”) that they are “just a sort of feature of modern life.”
PLF attorney Molly Nixon draws on George Orwell to examine how language can corrupt thought when it comes to “national emergencies” and the executive power they unlock.
|
|
Read More →
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution explicitly grants Congress the power “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises.” Tariffs, as a tax on imports, fall squarely within this provision.
Despite this clear constitutional mandate, in recent decades, various statutes have been used to justify presidential tariff actions under the guise of national security or economic emergency. PLF’s Oliver Dunford and Kyle Griesinger argue that this kind of executive overreach is an unconstitutional misuse of emergency powers in trade policy.
|
|
Read More →
|
|
|
|
|
