Nintendo has sued the U.S. government over “unlawful” tariffs, demanding a refund with interest.
Aftermath was first to report on Nintendo’s lawsuit, which was filed in the United States Court of International Trade today. Nintendo is focusing on refunds of tariffs that were struck down last month by the Supreme Court, which said President Donald Trump’s unprecedented use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was illegal. Following the Supreme Court decision, Trump introduced a new 10% global tariff rate.
In early April last year, Trump held up a chart while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House, and declared “Liberation Day.” The announcement confirmed additional tariffs targeting goods imported to the U.S.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said it collected about $166 billion in duties and deposits under the emergency tariffs imposed by Trump. According to Reuters, the CBP said a tariff refund system would be ready in 45 days.
Trump’s tariffs upended Nintendo’s Switch 2 pre-order plans. Following the “Liberation Day” announcement, Nintendo took the unprecedented decision to delay Switch 2 pre-orders in the U.S., blaming the impact of Trump’s tariffs and “evolving market conditions.”
Nintendo issued IGN the following statement at the time:
Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions. Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.
Nintendo announced the Switch 2 at $449.99, with a Mario Kart World bundle priced $499.99. Mario Kart World was priced $79.99. The company later hiked the price of its accessories, including the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, Joy-Con 2 Pair, and Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip, although it kept the price of the console the same.
At the time Nintendo made its pre-order delay announcement, U.S. markets had tumbled after China hit back against Trump’s tariffs. China, which then faced a 54% import tax, retaliated with the announcement of an additional 34% tax on U.S. goods.
Tariffs are essentially taxes placed on the cost of importing certain goods. While it’s possible for companies in the supply chain to simply eat these costs, more often than not these taxes are passed onto consumers. Last year, Nintendo leaned on its Switch 2 units imported from Vietnam, rather than China, in order to maintain the $449.99 price of the console.
Nintendo issued IGN the following statement: “We can confirm that we filed a request. We have nothing else to share on this topic.”
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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