Cassie Abel is too modest and honestly, too busy to celebrate. Being a part of the legal team that battled President Trumps sweeping tariffs and ultimately winning
in a 6-3 landmark ruling, is, to say the very least, daunting.
“Our brief to the Supreme Court helped to illustrate the impact on small businesses,” said Abel, founder and CEO of Ketchum-based Wild Rye. “Our story was on behalf of hundreds of thousands of businesses in the U.S. and their consumers that are being affected.”
Wild Rye produces premium technical apparel for women, and they’re well known in the cycling and mountain bike space. Plus, they launched ski outerwear just last fall, “amidst all of the chaos,” said Abel.
Much like the countless U.S. businesses that depend on overseas partners, Wild Rye has several Chinese partners to help manufacture and source their products. And last fall when oral arguments (Learning Resources, Et Al v. Trump, President of the United States) were being delivered before the Supreme Court, Abel visited with Morning Edition and said the tariffs had hit them like “a wrecking ball.”
“Our tariffs skyrocketed to nearly 200 percent,” said Abel. “We’re probably north of $600,000 in unplanned tariffs.”
But the Feb. 20 Supreme Court ruling rebuked many of the President's tariffs, ruling them illegal. It was a rare instance of the high court invalidating the president’s agenda.
And while some U.S. businesses have already filed lawsuits in hopes of recovering some of the tariffs paid ...
“I’m mildly optimistic,” said Abel “We’ve gotten through some of the chaos. I just hope this ruling doesn’t lead to more uncertainty.”
In a return visit, Abel spoke with Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about the landmark ruling and how Wild Rye is continually looking to the future.
Find reporter George Prentice @georgepren
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