We’ll be the first to admit that trade agreements do not make for interesting conversations. You could argue this is one of the reasons Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace isn’t highly regarded. Well, that and Jar-Jar. Different story for a different time, though.
The second presidency of Donald Trump has brought trade disputes and tariffs into real-life prominence, and it has not been for the best. Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled many of Trump’s tariffs to be illegal. Multiple companies are suing because of the damage this did to sales and increased costs. Nintendo can now be counted among them.
What is a Tariff?
Tariffs are not that complicated; they’re a tax on importing a good. They aim to promote products developed within a specific country by making external products more expensive. This is ultimately a policy that punishes consumers, especially if they’re buying a product that has to be imported. Nintendo, for example, often manufactures consoles and accessories in China. Because of Trump’s tariffs, these products would make those products more expensive to purchase upon entering the country. To avoid passing this cost onto the client, Nintendo would have to move production or lower prices to compensate for tariffs.
We can’t know all the inner workings of how Nintendo navigated tariffs, but we do know they’re suing the Trump Administration. The President of the United States does not normally have the power to just make tariffs happen. But because Trump wanted to pursue tariffs with mindless abandon, he issued them under the Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. And yeah, that was completely illegal. So now, various companies that lost money to this unlawful economic policy want their money back.
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What’s Nintendo’s Game Plan?
Nintendo hasn’t officially said much about the pending lawsuit other than confirming it filed one. They’re not alone in doing so, as various other companies, organizations, and state bodies are suing as well. This is very much an ongoing story that we’ll be keeping an eye on. And if the Trump Administration thinks their lawyers are fierce, well, hell hath no fury like a Nintendo lawyer scorned. We’ll keep you updated.
