Nintendo sues the US government over trade tariffs that delayed Switch 2 pre-orders
Nintendo of America has joined a number of states and a significant number of companies in suing the United States Government over what they claim are “unlawful” tariffs, bolstered by a US Supreme Court verdict that struck them down. Nintendo is just the latest addition to a long list of companies, totalling over 1000, including FedEx and Costco, and two dozen states that are suing the government over the previous tariffs that were seen as both indiscriminate and often counterproductive for various industries.
As reported first by Aftermath, Nintendo’s lawsuit primarily seeks refunds for the previously imposed tariffs that the Supreme Court ruled against, finding that President Trump could not use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to forcefully implement the new tariff scheme. "This action concerns Defendants' initiation and administration of unlawful trade measures that have, to date, resulted in the collection of more than $200 billion in tariffs on imports from nearly all countries," the lawyers claimed.
The filing revealed a list of named cited by Nintendo’s lawyers, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent; U.S. Department of Homeland Security and former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem; Office of the United States Trade Representative and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer; U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott; and the U.S. Department of Commerce and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
The jurisdiction for these lawsuits lies with the U.S. Court of International Trade, where Customs and Border Protection informed a judge that it had collected $166 billion in tariffs as of Wednesday, CNBC reported. Later in the week, Judge Richard Eaton ruled in favour of the companies, stating that they were, in fact, entitled to refunds; however, Customs and Border Protection revealed in a filing that it couldn’t immediately comply with the refunds. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, a system to implement the judge’s ruling would take roughly 6 weeks to set up.
Nintendo’s lawyers claim that the “unlawful” tariff scheme was "imposing tariffs on imports from a vast swath of countries." It continued by demanding a full refund, with interest, for the tariffs it had paid. "[Nintendo of America] has standing to sue because it is the importer of record for goods that were subject to IEEPA Duties," lawyers say. The entertainment giant stated that its products are made overseas, and the timing of the tariff scheme unfortunately coincided with its preparations to launch the Switch 2. The tariffs delayed and drove up the cost of launching the handheld hybrid console, and, in turn, Nintendo believes it is owed a refund and compensation.
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