Video game consoles are not being included in recent US tariff pauses for tech imports.
Every day, there’s some new development in the tariff policy of the United States. One day, tariffs are on, causing shockwaves throughout global businesses. The next day, they’re paused, or further inflated. The day after that, they might be inflated or paused again. It means reporting around the tariffs is incredibly tricky, and that any new announcement must be taken with a grain of salt. For video game fans, and particularly those awaiting news of Nintendo Switch 2 preorders in the United States, it’s been a rocky ride.
Earlier this month, reports noted a 145% tariff would be placed on goods entering the United States from China. Then, it was announced that smartphones and computers would be exempted from the heightened tariffs, as well as semiconductor chips, due to their essential nature. Video game consoles were not included in this exemption.
As of today, 15 April, bizarrely, that exemption is now in doubt – as US President Donald Trump has claimed the tariff pause is temporary, and new tariffs on semiconductor chips and other technologies will be announced in future. While this has caused a great deal of uncertainty, and a justified amount of frustration, it does appear that regardless of the final outcome, video game consoles entering the United States will be taxed at a high rate, possibly inspiring higher costs for consumers.
Per reporting from Nikkei Asia (via VGC), Nintendo – as well as Apple – has allegedly been warned by internal assessors that video game consoles will be subject to the originally-determined 145% tariff on imports from China. There will seemingly be no exemption for video game consoles, and so, the price of importing consoles into the United States will be significantly higher than planned.
Should this report prove accurate, it does appear Nintendo will have to reckon with this additional tariff in some form – although it remains to be seen whether this will have knock-on impacts for consumers.
Following the initial pause on preorders for the Nintendo Switch 2 in the United States and Canada, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser claimed the original price for the Switch 2 in the US – USD $449.99 – did not account for new, ever-rising tariffs.
Swiftly, a new report followed that claimed Nintendo had been importing Switch 2 consoles into the United States since early 2025, with much of the stock produced in Vietnam being allocated to the US. The console is reportedly being produced in small quantities in Vietnam, with the majority of production taking place in China.
Currently, it’s unknown whether the company planned for these rising tariffs with its reported stockpile of consoles from Vietnam, which have seemingly escaped newly-placed tariffs. We also don’t know whether it will continue producing consoles for the United States via Vietnam, as a means to avoid the steeper tariff on goods made in China.
As an additional note, we don’t know whether the tariffs will force Nintendo to price the console higher in the United States – despite an already steep price tag, compared with prices in other regions – as a means to offset tariffs. For now, console preorders remain paused, and with the alleged advice given, that may remain the case, as new tariffs are developed, and the status quo settles in.
There are many assumptions to make about what Nintendo‘s next moves will be. It could have enough stock to launch the Nintendo Switch 2 in the United States as initially planned, thanks to those reported imports from Vietnam. It could choose to raise prices, to account for the ongoing trade war between the United States and China. For now, the path forward remains a mystery.
Those looking to preorder the Nintendo Switch 2 in the United States or Canada will need to stay tuned for an update, as the situation is in constant flux.
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By Leah J. Williams 15 April 2025
