President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs have impacted $2.2 trillion worth of imported goods, including the wines and spirits sold by V.O.S. Selections and educational toys sold by Learning Resources, whose consolidated lawsuits against the tariffs will be heard by the Supreme Court next Wednesday. The family-owned Crutchfield Corporation is another American business harmed by the president's tariffs. On Friday, the company filed an amicus brief, explaining the havoc that Trump's trade policies have caused on its operations.
Bill Crutchfield founded his company in 1974 as a car stereo mail-order business operating out of his mother's basement in Charlottesville, Virginia. Despite nearly filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy the year of its founding, Crutchfield successfully pivoted from a traditional retail business to an audio equipment information company in 1975. Since then, the company has grown to over 600 employees, and last year, the consumer electronics retailer celebrated its semicentennial, but Trump's International Emergency and Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs threaten the future of this American success story.
