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Nintendo Sues U.S. Government Over Tariffs Vacated by Supreme Court
posted on by Anita Tai
Nintendo of America filed a lawsuit on Friday in the U.S. Court of International Trade against the U.S. government, over the global import tariff taxes enacted last year. As a result of the Supreme Court's ruling against most of the tariffs on February 20, the company is seeking the refund of the vacated tariffs it paid, with interest.
Nintendo confirmed in a statement to IGN that the company filed the suit.
The suit cites similar rulings from courts and the Federal circuit and asserts the U.S. government's "unlawful trade measures" have collected over US$200 billion in tariffs globally. On the same day of the Supreme Court's ruling, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new executive order to reverse his previous orders and halt the collection of those tariffs.
After the tariffs were enacted last year, Nintendo delayed pre-orders for its Nintendo Switch 2 console in the U.S. and Canada to assess the tariffs' impact. Nintendo then announced it would open pre-orders for the console in those countries on April 24. While prices for the Switch 2 and some of its launch games were unchanged, Switch 2 accessories changed pricing "due to changes in market conditions."
The console launched worldwide on June 5.
Background on U.S. Tariffs Enacted in 2025
Trump enacted his first major order of tariffs in his second presidency in February 2025, imposing tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China.
Trump then announced on April 2, 2025, a baseline tariff of 10% on global imports to the United States would start on April 5. He also announced self-described "reciprocal" tariffs would start against many countries on April 9. Vietnam and Cambodia would receive some of the highest additional tariff rates at 46% and 49%, respectively, while Japan and China would receive 24% and 34%, respectively.
The president then suspended tariffs for almost all countries except China, which he continued raising to an effective 145% (including tariffs levied prior to the current administration) over a number of days, with China responding with an escalation of its own tariffs to the United States that reached 125%. On May 12, the U.S. and China agreed to lower tariffs for 90 days. The U.S. cut the effective tariff rate on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, and China cut the tariff rate on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%.
The tariffs were challenged in court in the same month, where U.S. courts and the federal circuit ruled the executive orders were not authorized under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a federal law allowing the president to regulate international commerce in the event of a national emergency, and unenforceable.
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled on February 20, 2026 that the collection of tariffs were not authorized under the IEEPA.
After the Supreme Court's February 20 Ruling
After the Supreme Court ruling, Trump enacted a global 10% tariff in place of the previous tariffs, using the Trade Act of 1974 as the legal authority instead of IEEPA. Trump's new tariffs will remain in effect for 150 days (unless Congress passes legislation to approve an extension), and Trump's administration suggested plans to increase the tax rate to 15% (the maximum allowed by the Trade Act).
New York, California, Oregon, Arizona, and other states filed a lawsuit on Thursday to oppose the new tariffs, claiming that the tariffs do not meet the conditions that the Trade Act and other laws require.
The U.S. Court of International Trade ordered on Wednesday for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to issue refunds for tariffs vacated by the Supreme Court ruling. Judge Richard Eaton wrote in the ruling, "All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit."
Sources: United States Court of International Trade, Aftermath (Nicole Carpenter), IGN (Wesley Yin-Poole)
