Top headlines of the week, April 25 2025
Here are some stories you may have missed this week in central Ohio.
- Rookie Mage Games and other small businesses are suing the Trump administration over tariffs on Chinese imports.
- The tariffs, as high as 145%, threaten the viability of small game publishers who rely on Chinese manufacturers.
- This lawsuit joins others filed against the tariffs by states and organizations.
A local tabletop game maker has joined a coalition of small businesses suing the Trump administration over tariffs.
Columbus-based Rookie Mage Games joined at least four other game makers in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade. The suit seeks to overturn recently imposed tariffs of 145% on China, according to a news release.
The tariffs, announced by Trump in early April, are an “existential threat” to smaller tabletop game publishers as China is the only country capable of providing inventory for small publishers, which usually rely on smaller print runs, according to the release.
“I will not stand by and allow my years of hard work and the hard work of many other small businesses to be ruined in a desperate political ploy for attention and ego validation,” Jordan McLaughlin, founder of Rookie Mage Games said in the prepared release. “Attempting to move manufacturing jobs back to the United States is a worthwhile effort. There are smart ways to do it, and there are dumb ways.”
Along with Rookie Mage Games, publishers Stonemaier Games, Spielcraft Games, XYZ Game Labs, and Tinkerhouse all joined the lawsuit. Other small businesses also added their names to the suit, according to the release.
Game makers’ lawsuit the latest against Trump tariffs
The lawsuit is just the latest against President Donald Trump over his tariffs. In the days since they were imposed, a dozen democratic states have sued the Trump administration, as did a conservative advocacy organization funded by billionaire Charles Koch, USA TODAY reported.
President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs were announced April 2 at the White House. The measures included a baseline tariff of 10% on U.S. trading partners, while an escalating trade war with China resulted in a tariff on goods imported from there of 145%.
But Trump has backed off the tariffs in the days since he announced them, saying that other nations have asked to negotiate trade deals to avoid tariffs. Earlier this month, Trump announced exemptions for computers and smartphones coming from China.
McLaughlin complained that the start-and-stop nature of the tariffs has made running his business even more difficult.
“No small business can operate in a country whose economic policy is in constant flux,” McLaughlin said.
Dispatch investigative reporter Max Filby can be reached by email at mfilby@dispatch.com. Find him on X at the handle @MaxFilby or on Facebook at @ReporterMaxFilby.
