The small-business owner suing Trump over tariffs

Summary

Post Reports: The Small-Business Owner Suing Trump Over Tariffs

Podcast Information:

• Title: Post Reports
• Host/Author: The Washington Post
• Episode: The Small-Business Owner Suing Trump Over Tariffs
• Release Date: May 19, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of Post Reports, hosts Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi delve into the inspiring yet challenging journey of Emily Ley, the founder of Simplified, a small business specializing in high-end planners for busy women. The narrative unfolds as Emily takes a bold stand against the Trump administration's trade policies by initiating a lawsuit over imposed tariffs on goods manufactured in China.

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Emily Ley and the Birth of Simplified

Emily Ley's entrepreneurial journey began in 2011 amidst the chaos of motherhood. Overwhelmed by the lack of simple and effective planners, she decided to create her own. Initially selling her planners on Etsy, Emily faced significant financial hurdles due to high production costs in the United States.

Emily Ley [04:10]: "What if I made a planner or a place to manage just my schedule, my to-do list, and it would be a planner that was simplified."

Despite her dedication, the high production costs in the U.S. forced her to look abroad for manufacturing solutions. By partnering with manufacturers in China, Emily was able to reduce production costs dramatically, allowing Simplified to grow and eventually sell planners in major retailers like Target.

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Impact of Tariffs on Simplified

The turning point came in 2018 when President Trump implemented a 25% tariff on goods imported from China. For Simplified, this meant a sudden and substantial increase in production costs, severely impacting the company's financial stability.

Kat Zakreski [07:04]: "To grow, and suddenly this tariff was handed out, and it was... hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it was devastating."

Despite initial resilience, the continuation and escalation of tariffs under subsequent administrations left Emily and her team grappling with uncertainty and financial strain. By May 2025, Simplified had paid over $1.17 million in tariffs, but the fluctuating rates made long-term planning nearly impossible.

Emily Ley [09:25]: "We are paying the tariffs. I have signed the checks as a small business... I feel it is vital to transparently share this with you so you know firsthand how these tariffs impact small businesses."

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Taking Legal Action Against the Trump Administration

Faced with insurmountable challenges, Emily Ley decided to take a stand by suing the Trump administration, arguing that the tariffs were unconstitutional. This legal battle marked a significant shift in her public persona, moving from a lifestyle blogger to a vocal opponent of federal trade policies.

Emily Ley [02:07]: "We are paying the tariffs... it wasn't partisan... just here's the details."

Emily's decision was not taken lightly, as it exposed her to potential backlash and uncertainty regarding her business's future. However, driven by a sense of responsibility and a desire to set an example for her children, she proceeded with the lawsuit.

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The Legal Argument and Constitutional Concerns

Emily's legal team bases their argument on the premise that the Trump administration overstepped constitutional boundaries by using emergency powers to impose tariffs without proper legislative backing.

Kat Zakreski [21:45]: "The Constitution grants Congress the power to set taxes, but they’ve given government agencies power to set tariffs if they follow certain processes... This time, Trump used a statute called IAAPA, giving presidents broad authority to take economic action in emergencies."

This unprecedented use of emergency powers to implement tariffs raises critical questions about the separation of powers and the extent of presidential authority. The Trump administration has not directly addressed these constitutional overreach claims but has attempted to relocate the lawsuit to the United States Court of International Trade to seek a more favorable outcome.

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Challenges and Future Implications

While legal experts believe Emily has a strong case, the journey is fraught with uncertainty. The possibility of securing a preliminary injunction to halt the tariffs is slim, and the legal process may extend into 2026 or 2027. Meanwhile, Emily faces immediate operational challenges, including:

• Production Delays: With planners dated 2027, decisions made in May 2025 are critical for inventory and sales.

  Emily Ley [12:15]: "We are about to sign purchase orders within the next 30 days for product that we're going to receive next January."

• Cost-Cutting Measures: To remain viable, Emily is exploring ways to reduce production costs without compromising product quality, including altering packaging and materials.

  Emily Ley [13:14]: "We've raised prices as much as we possibly can to still be competitive... we might have to consider more drastic measures like layoffs."

• Brand Reputation: As the lawsuit gains visibility, Emily worries about potential customer loss and the overall impact on her brand.

Despite these challenges, Emily remains steadfast in her commitment to the lawsuit, viewing it as a necessary fight for her business's survival and the broader implications for small businesses affected by similar trade policies.

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Conclusion

Emily Ley's story is a poignant example of how federal policies can significantly impact small businesses. By taking legal action against the Trump administration, she not only seeks to save her company but also aims to challenge the systemic issues that place undue burdens on entrepreneurs. This episode of Post Reports highlights the intricate balance between governmental policies and their real-world implications on individual businesses, offering listeners a deep dive into the complexities of international trade and constitutional law.

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Notable Quotes:

• Emily Ley [00:42]: "It really wasn't a decision of should I say something? It was like how do I say it?"
• Kat Zakreski [07:04]: "To grow, and suddenly this tariff was handed out, and it was... hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it was devastating."
• Emily Ley [09:25]: "We are paying the tariffs... it wasn’t partisan... just here's the details."
• Kat Zakreski [21:45]: "This raises questions about whether Trump is respecting the separation of powers as set up by the Constitution."
• Emily Ley [12:15]: "Once they expire, nobody wants to buy it."

---

This summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from the episode, providing a comprehensive overview for those who haven't listened to the full podcast.

Transcript

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[Colby Ikowitz]

Emily Ley remembers the night when she decided to take a stand against the Trump administration. She decided to post on Instagram, where she has hundreds of thousands of followers.

[Emily Ley]

It was after a very long day. I was sitting right there on that couch and it really wasn't a decision of should I say something? It was like how do I say it?

[Colby Ikowitz]

Emily is the founder of a small business called Simplified which makes high end planners marketed to busy women like her.

[Kat Zakreski]

She says the only cost effective place.

[Colby Ikowitz]

To manufacture those planners is China. So when President Trump launched new tariffs against goods made in China earlier this.

[Kat Zakreski]

Year, Emily got really worried and she.

[Colby Ikowitz]

Wanted her followers to know that business owners like her would be footing the bill.

[Emily Ley]

Here's what she we are paying the tariffs. I have signed the checks as a small business, a woman owned business, a women run business. I feel it is vital to transparently share this with you so you know firsthand how these tariffs impact small businesses, the prices we all pay and ultimately all of us and our communities. It wasn't partisan. It wasn't here's who I voted for and how I, you know, whatever it was, just here's the details and in case anyone wants to know who's actually paying the tariffs, I can tell you. And so yeah, it was a little wild what transpired from there.

[Colby Ikowitz]

Emily went on to sue the Trump administration.

[Kat Zakreski]

She's arguing these tariffs are unconstitutional.

[Colby Ikowitz]

The US And China agreed last week to lower most tariffs for 90 days as they try to reach a deal. But for Emily, the uncertainty is making it impossible to plan. She says that the way the administration keeps implementing and then calling off and then implementing these tariffs is part of the problem. Emily's lawsuit has transformed her image. Her many online followers knew her as a Christian mom and a lifestyle blogger from a deep red part of Florida politics. They just weren't a big part of her brand before.

[Emily Ley]

One minute I was talking about like how to make an easy pot roast and the next minute we're talking about an international trade war so it's multifaceted to be to be here today.

[Colby Ikowitz]

From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. I'm Colby IKOWICZ. It's Monday, May 19th. Today, White House reporter Kat Zakreski brings us the story of Emily Lay, a small business owner taking on the Trump administration's trade war.

[Kat Zakreski]

Hey, Kat, thanks for joining me.

Thanks so much for having me on the show, Colby.

So, Kat, let's start with learning a little bit more about Emily and her business. How did she even begin to start this small business?

So Emily's business Journey started in 2011 when she had her first son. She was a very overwhelmed mother. So she did what a lot of stressed out women do. She went to Target. She was walking down the aisles of Target looking for a, a binder or a Trapper Keeper that could help her hold it all together. And she was really frustrated with the options that she was seeing.

[Emily Ley]

Everything I found had a lot of bells and whistles. So it was like, how many glasses of water did you drink today? How many, you know, how much did you blow your budget today? And I was like, I just, I already feel overwhelmed. I don't want that. And I went home and thought, what if I made a planner or a place to manage just my schedule, my to do list, and it would be a planner that was simplified.

[Kat Zakreski]

That is really how the simplified planner started. And she figured if she was getting some utility out of this, other women might too. And that's when she decided to sell the planner on Etsy and found that there was a bit of a market for it. She actually showed us the original planners when we visited her at her house in Florida.

[Emily Ley]

This was made here in the United States, so laminated cover, the white binding that's coming off the back. And this was it. This was her. She cost.

[Kat Zakreski]

She was selling them for about $50 each on Etsy, but it cost her $38 to make each planner. And so, wow, after, you know, you think of all the other expenses that come with running a business, she took home zero profits that first year.

Sounds like it was prohibitively expensive to continue making these products in the United States. So is that when she decides I need to move my manufacturing abroad?

That's right. So in 2012, she's really becoming more dedicated to this business and thinking about, how can I improve this product. She had ideas that she wanted it to have a gold spiral binding, the pages together that she wanted to do, you know, fun patterns and have specialized paper. And she met with many manufacturers in The United States. And she was told again and again that this isn't possible at that price point. And so she ended up finding a website that connects US Small businesses with manufacturers abroad. And that is when she began to explore her options in China. Eventually, a manufacturer took a chance on her. And now a simplified planner costs $12 each to make.

And somewhat ironically, they sell her planners in Target now, right?

Yes, exactly. It's a full Target circle. She told us her planners and products are used by hundreds of thousands of women around the world.

[Thanet Naropil]

Wow.

[Kat Zakreski]

Wow. So when does she first have to.

[Colby Ikowitz]

Deal with the issue of tariffs?

[Kat Zakreski]

So this first came up for many companies and simplified in the first Trump administration in 2018, when Trump implemented broad tariffs of 25% on goods entering the country from China.

[Thanet Naropil]

And frankly, it's going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation at that point.

[Kat Zakreski]

She eats the cost at. It was a big moment for simplified. 2018 is when the company first struck its licensing agreement with Target. She had big plans for expansion at the time. She had about six employees, was hoping.

[Emily Ley]

To grow, and suddenly this tariff was handed out, and it was. It was hundreds. I forget exactly how much it was during that year, but it was hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it was devastating.

[Kat Zakreski]

All of that got put on hold so that she could use those funds to cover these costs of the tariffs.

And I imagine the point in the first Trump administration is similar to the point now, which was to deter US Companies from manufacturing in China, and hopefully they would instead choose to make their.

Products in the U.S. that's exactly right. But, I mean, what a lot of companies found were there weren't options to make their products in the United States for a lower price, really, because of how the global economy has transformed over the last 40 years. At this point, the United States has outsourced so much manufacturing to other countries, including China, that the infrastructure and the labor force just doesn't exist here anymore. We saw some companies, especially bigger companies, look to diversify their supply chain to parts of Southeast Asia or India or other countries. But for simplified, they decided to stay. Because, I mean, from Lei's perspective, she had personal relationships with some of the manufacturing partners. She knew that she could trust the quality from these manufacturers, and she also felt that she had an understanding of the ethics of these manufacturers and that she was comfortable with their practices in that regard, especially because she was able to review agreements that they had with other businesses in the United States.

And then President Joe Biden, he kept those tariffs during his presidency. Right?

[Emily Ley]

Right.

[Kat Zakreski]

So over the Years, Emily Lay and simplified have paid $1.17 million to the US government to cover the cost of these tariffs.

[Colby Ikowitz]

Okay, so the tariffs were already at 25%. Then Donald Trump wins reelection. Then what happens?

[Kat Zakreski]

So Emily actually talked to us a little bit about what it was like for her over the course of those few months.

[Emily Ley]

It has been chaos, to put it lightly, to try to keep up with where the tariffs are. I mean, nobody's really sure. Attorneys, accountants, people who handle imports, even our manufacturer. Everybody's confused.

[Kat Zakreski]

Trump actually, in February, initially implements one tariff rate just on goods from China.

[Thanet Naropil]

That was just an opening salvo. If we can't make a deal with China, then the tariffs will be very, very substantial.

[Kat Zakreski]

And then we have the big Liberation Day announcement in the Rose Garden, where he then puts a 10% tariff across the board and then an additional 34% on goods from China.

[Thanet Naropil]

This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It's our declaration of economic independence.

[Kat Zakreski]

China responds and retaliates. Trump wraps it up again.

[Thanet Naropil]

Last year, China made $1 trillion off trade with the United States. That's not right. And now I've reversed it.

[Kat Zakreski]

This keeps going back and forth until we get to the situation where companies like Simplified have to pay a tariff of 145% on any good that they're importing.

I mean, that's impossible.

And that's kind of what Emily and her co workers who we talked to said. I mean, they were all on zoom calls talking about this, texting with each other on slacks. When we asked her, you know, what were you saying to each other when this was happening? She was like, I don't think that language was appropriate for a podcast. But, you know, I think it got to the point where they said, if it's 145%, it might as well be 800%, because that's just untenable for us.

[Emily Ley]

You're looking at adding $18 on top of a $12 cost, which in turn just prices you way out of the market. If you expect the consumer to absorb it all, which we don't, it's really scary.

[Colby Ikowitz]

But now there's a pause on these tariffs for 90 days. Right. So what does that now mean for Emily?

[Kat Zakreski]

So there's a pause on the highest tariffs that she was worried about, but there's still. Now, during this pause, is this tariff of 30%, which actually adds on the tariff she was already paying. So she's still at the current rate, looking at paying tariffs of over 50%. On each planner that she's importing. And the bigger question is this pause right now only lasts for 90 days. And right now she's thinking about future inventory, making decisions about planners that are going to be shipped to the United States in January. So right after the news of the pause, I called Emily back on Zoom just to talk about how she was thinking about this moment. And to tell you the truth, it didn't change much for her because there's still so much uncertainty.

[Emily Ley]

It does not feel like the promise of anything. We are about to sign purchase orders within the next 30 days or so for product that we're going to receive next January. It takes us nine months to make these things, and they're dated, so it's like selling milk. I mean, once they expire, nobody wants to buy it. And everybody keeps saying that this is a deal, and it doesn't feel like a deal to me. I feel like when you say deal, that means that you've come to some sort of agreement and each side is meeting in the middle or something. And it doesn't feel like that because at this point, it's just a pause. I mean, we're. Who knows what it'll look like tomorrow?

[Kat Zakreski]

She is making decisions based on the data she has today, but really, no one knows at this point what things will look like by January of next year when her next batch of planners arrives.

So are there ways that she's, like, looking to cut costs to try to make this viable for her?

She is.

[Emily Ley]

I mean, everything is up in the air at this point, because if we're going to survive it, which many businesses won't survive it, if we're going to survive it, it's going to have to come from somewhere. And I'm afraid we've raised prices as much as we possibly can to still be competitive.

[Kat Zakreski]

These are obviously higher price point planners. They already charge $54 for it, which.

Is a lot for a planner.

Exactly. So she doesn't feel that there's any room for her to raise prices anymore on consumers, because then the won't be competitive and customers will go elsewhere. So right now, the planners come in these really nice boxes. It feels like you're almost opening up a present when you get one. And these are personal keepsake boxes that have been part of the brand for a long time. She says that's probably on the chopping block. No way they can do that anymore. She's considered changing the paper that they use, which they spent trying to figure out what is the perfect white paper that you know, isn't too thick, isn't too thin. One of the things that sets their planners apart is the planners have color printing of the calendars, and that might all have to go away. And so it's just when you talk to her, you can hear the story of someone who really has spent over a decade perfecting this product that clearly has built a very strong following among many American women. And she's really struggling with right now, how do I keep this business going and continue to meet the standards that my customers expect? And she said she might have to consider even more drastic measures that she doesn't want to do, like layoffs of employees.

[Emily Ley]

This isn't because our business is failing or because people stopped buying our products. That's going well, at least now. It's really because these tariffs are being put into place. And so it feels a little bit like our business didn't fail. Our government failed us.

[Kat Zakreski]

Has the Trump administration responded to the argument that a lot of small businesses like Emily's just can't pay that much tax on the goods that they manufacture abroad?

In early May, Trump appeared on Meet the Press, and he brushed off the concerns about the impact the tariffs could have on small businesses. He was specifically asked, will you create tariff relief for small businesses, especially after he has made exemptions for some electronics and products that the bigger tech companies make. Are there any discussions about giving any relief to small businesses?

[Thanet Naropil]

They're not going to need it.

[Kat Zakreski]

Okay.

[Thanet Naropil]

They're going to make so much money. Are these tariffs if you build your product here? Remember, there are no tariffs if you build your product here. It's very easy. It's very simple.

[Kat Zakreski]

By the Trump administration's telling, having these tariffs are going to bring back manufacturing jobs to the United States again and revitalize the Rust Belt and these parts of the American economy that have been left behind. But because of the way these tariffs have been rolled out, the general uncertainty about how long they're going to last, and just the realities of costs and the labor market that we have today in the United States. Most companies aren't saying, oh, I'm going to bring my production back to Pennsylvania.

Not to mention, I would imagine that it would take. You couldn't just do that overnight, right? So to create a new manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania, let's say, might take years and years and years. And what is someone like Emily supposed to do in the interim? Let's imagine that everything happens the way Trump says it's gonna happen, and manufacturing comes back to America. That's not gonna happen tomorrow. So what is Emily supposed to do in those intervening years exactly?

I mean, part of the challenge for her right now is that she's actually making decisions in May 2025 about what the tariff rate might be on planners that are dated 2027. So this just kind of shows how far out she has to think. And it doesn't seem likely that the Trump administration is going to be in a final spot right now on what these tariff rates are going to be.

[Colby Ikowitz]

After the break, we get into the legal argument Emily is making and how her life has changed since she sued the president. We'll be right back.

[Thanet Naropil]

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[Kat Zakreski]

Emily's profile was not about politics. Right? This isn't why people were following her because of her political preferences. But now she's taken a pretty significant stand. I mean, how did she decide to take legal action against the Trump administration to put herself out there in that way?

So Instagram is actually a big part of that story. So during these weeks, when she was posting about her new cookbook and things like recipes for Frito Pie, she was also having conversations that were sparked by her Instagram post with a group called the New Civil Liberties Alliance. And this is a group that has a history of challenging constitutional overreach. It has some funding ties to big business like the Koch Industries, which is obviously big Republican donors.

[Emily Ley]

They explained to me what I already knew about the fact that these tariffs were implemented outside of the law and. And ask if I would be interested in a phone call.

[Kat Zakreski]

They asked her if she was willing to be the face and the company that brought this lawsuit challenging the Trump administration on whether it overreached in the way it set up these broad tariffs.

[Emily Ley]

I mean, it wasn't on my bingo card for 2025 to file a lawsuit against the president.

[Kat Zakreski]

What is the legal argument that Emily and her lawyers are making about the tariffs, and why do they think they have a winning argument?

So when you look at the Constitution, Congress has the power to set taxes, but they've given government agencies a lot of power to set tariffs if they follow certain processes that require doing investigations and getting comment from the public. And that is what we saw Trump actually do in his first term, when he put these tariffs up against China. But this time, when Trump's rolled out the tariffs, he's used emergency powers. And he specifically used a statute called IAAPA that gives presidents broad authority to take economic action in the face of emergencies. But no president has ever used this before to implement tariffs. And so it really raises these questions that, as reporters covering Trump, we keep running into is whether he's respecting the separation of powers as it's set up by the Constitution.

Has the Trump administration responded to this argument in particular, that they're overreaching?

So they have not responded to the argument of overreaching, but they have tried to move the lawsuit to a different court. Okay, so right now, Emily filed this lawsuit in the state of Florida, where she lives, and they're trying to move it to the United States Court of International Trade, where they think they have better odds of coming out on top eventually.

Did you talk to Emily at all about kind of how she's processing this new role for herself, how she sees herself now that she is the face of a lawsuit against Trump?

We spoke a lot about that. I think it was a difficult decision for her. She talked about how she knew by stepping out in this way and challenging the Trump administration, she's putting a target on her back.

[Emily Ley]

I also knew there could be retribution from the president. I knew that we could lose customers.

[Kat Zakreski]

As a White House reporter and a former tech reporter, I can tell you that the big companies that I've covered for years are not publicly criticizing these tariffs. And we haven't seen, for instance, the trade groups that represent larger companies bring lawsuits like this. People know it's a very risky environment to take a stand like this. And so she, of course, worried about the impact it would have on her brand, on her customers. But ultimately, it seems that she feels really positive about how this process has played out. She has three children, and she talks a lot about how she felt she needed to set an example for them in this instance and stand up for herself. And also, at the end of the day, when you look at the situation that Simplified is in, she didn't have a lot of options. Yeah, it really is existential for the company in a lot of ways. And so I think she felt like it was a fight she wanted to take on.

Obviously, Emily hopes that this lawsuit goes in her favor, and I guess, is she hoping that it will end the tariffs? Like, what is she hope. What is she hoping is the end result of this lawsuit?

The goal of this lawsuit is, yes, to strike down the tariffs, to say this is unconstitutional and this is not the way you go about implementing tariffs in the United States.

[Emily Ley]

We're looking at this as a time that we just have to survive. I do believe this lawsuit will be won. I believe that it will eventually help businesses, and I may go down swinging with that mindset. But that's. That's. If I got to go down, I'm going to go down that way.

[Kat Zakreski]

Even though legal experts think she has a strong chance here, I think the real question is, how quickly can that happen? Legal experts aren't sure that she would be able to get what's known as a preliminary injunction. So an intervention quickly from the court to stop the tariffs. And so it's likely to take possibly years for this to play out. And one legal expert I spoke to today said 2026 to 2027 is when we would likely see an outcome in this.

And meanwhile, Emily doesn't have that kind of time. I mean, like you said, she's got what, a month to figure out whether or not she's going to start manufacturing next year's planners.

Exactly. I mean, I think the clock is ticking to slightly under a month now. And so she and her team are constantly looking at what are their options, what is plan B, what is plan C, what is Plan D? Because it's just so unpredictable for them right now.

Kat, thank you so much for joining me.

Thank you for having me on the show.

[Colby Ikowitz]

Kat Zakreski is a White House reporter for the Post. Today's episode was produced by Emma Talgoff, who also contributed reporting. It was mixed by Shawn Carter. It was edited by Maggie Penman. Thank you to Anna Ashbrenner and Mike Semmel. That's it for Post Reports. Thank you for listening. You listen to Post reports because you value being informed. The Washington Post, the journalists on our audio team, throughout our newsroom and in bureaus around the world. It's what we all value. Strong reporting, scoops, holding power to account. And that is what a Washington Post subscription supports. Our Memorial Day sale is here, so if you're not a subscriber yet, this is the time. With this sale, you can get a subscription for just $2 every four weeks for your first year and after that it's just $12 every four weeks and you can cancel anytime. As always, there's a link to subscribe in our show notes or you can go to washingtonpost.com subscribe one more time. That's washingtonpost.com subscribe. It's a limited time offer, so take advantage of it now. I'm Colby Ekowitz. We'll be back tomorrow with more stories from the Washington Post.

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