Supreme Court Invalidates Most Trump Tariffs That Raised Console Prices

The Supreme Court ruled against the majority of President Donald Trump’s tariffs that were enacted using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), rejecting an unprecedented use of the law to impose trade duties. The decision was 6–3, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing that “The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration and scope,” and concluding, “We hold that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.” No previous president had used the IEEPA to impose tariffs on other nations.

The 2025 tariffs had immediate effects on the video game industry, prompting Nintendo to delay pre-orders for the Switch 2 and leading to higher prices for consoles and accessories. As Nintendo explained, “Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start on April 9, 2025, in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.

Nintendo will update timing at a later date.

United States

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