Nintendo sues Trump administration over ‘illegal’ tariffs that delayed Switch 2 pre-orders

Remember when Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders were delayed last year due to President Trump’s tariffs? Nintendo, of course.

As first noticed by a gaming news outlet ConsequencesNintendo today filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in the United States Court of International Trade.

Now that the Supreme Court has struck Trump’s tariffs, Nintendo wants a refund, with interest. Nor is it an expression; The suit asks the court to order prompt reimbursement of the “unlawful” tariff charges, with interest and attorney’s fees.

Nintendo’s lawsuit is a direct response to last month’s Supreme Court ruling, which struck down the tariffs signed by Trump, invoked under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA). Nintendo is one of more than 1,000 companiesincluding FedEx and Costco, are now suing over the rates.

Gamers will likely remember that Trump’s tariffs hit just as Nintendo was preparing to launch its new Switch 2 video game console last year. Due to uncertainty around the prices At the time, Nintendo delayed pre-orders for the Switch 2.

At the time, Nintendo, Microsoft and other companies forced to raise prices or delay shipments often euphemistically blamed “changing market conditions” rather than calling out Trump and the tariffs by name. But now that the Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, businesses are done being coy.

“[Nintendo] has been materially harmed by the unlawful execution and imposition of unauthorized decrees and the corresponding payment of IEEPA fees,” the suit states. Nintendo is asking the court to order “prompt reimbursement, with interest, of all IEEPA fees paid by [Nintendo] regardless of the status of liquidation, and provide all remedies that the court deems appropriate.

Technically, Nintendo is suing not only the Trump administration, but also the United States of America itself, which is explicitly named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Nintendo of America Inc. v. United States of America. The suit also names a number of Trump administration officials (including recently fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem), as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Nintendo finally launched the Switch 2 on its originally scheduled release date and with its $449.99 price unchanged. However, many Switch 2 accessories have seen their prices increase due to tariffs.

Trump’s tariffs hit the tech industry as a whole hard, with companies hiking prices products like laptops and gaming accessories. As Mashable reported at the time, major companies like Nintendo were facing tariff bills topping $1 billion per quarter. Today, many people are demanding refunds.

Shortly after last month’s Supreme Court ruling, Trump announced a new overall tariff rate of 10 percent and threatened to increase it further to 15 percent.

As for tariff reimbursements, the court will eventually determine whether they will be reimbursed. However, one thing seems certain. Consumers who have had the cost of Trump’s tariffs passed on to them through price increases will not see that money returned.