Nintendo is Officially Suing the United States Government

This article was updated by Andrea Trama on March 13, 2026, with news regarding Nintendo’s lawsuit against the US government. It was first published on March 6.

On March 6, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against the United States government over the Trump administration’s tariffs on goods from various nations that the gaming giant does business with, including China and Mexico. Nintendo stated that, since the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs, it was suing to collect any refunds the government owed “with interest” under the court’s ruling.

Following US President Donald Trump’s return to office in 2025, the US government imposed tariffs on goods coming from various nations. Ergo, the costs of the collected tariffs were passed on to consumers across the country. In April 2025, the US government’s tariff rate against China was as high as 145%, which caused prices on food, electronics, and other goods to increase across the board. The Trump administration cited the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as justification for the tariffs. As a result, Nintendo increased the prices of Switch 2 controllers and accessories, though the Switch 2 console still kept its launch MSRP at $449.

Nintendo Is Suing The US Government Over Trump’s Tariffs

After the US Supreme Court struck down most of the Trump administration’s tariffs in a February 20 ruling by a 6-3 vote, Trump issued a blanket 10% global tariff via an executive order that would last for 150 days at most. Now Nintendo has taken the initiative to recoup the tariffs it paid before the Supreme Court’s ruling. However, there is a hiccup in the process.

In December 2025, the US Court of International Trade paused (stayed) all tariff-related suits in order to figure out how to appropriately deal with them. This resulted in Nintendo’s lawsuit against the US government being blocked for the time being, and it’s unclear when it’ll resume. According to the lawsuit filed with the US Court of International Trade, Nintendo listed members of the Trump administration as the main defendants, including Secretaries Scott Bessent, Kristi Noem, Rodney Scott, Jameison Greer, and Howard Lutnick. The lawsuit stated that Nintendo wants to collect any refunds “with interest” of tariff duties that had been paid since February 2025.

Although a refund amount was not disclosed in the lawsuit, Nintendo said that it “suffered injury caused by the IEEPA Duties” and that any ruling against the company would result in “imminent and irreparable harm” to Nintendo’s bottom line. Nintendo stated that the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration had collected more than $200 billion on imports across the globe. According to Reuters, the US Customs and Border Protection agency stated that it would have a refund system active within the next 45 days.

While Nintendo’s legal team is better known for combating piracy, the gaming giant’s latest lawsuit is in line with ones that have previously been filed against the Trump administration. According to a February 24 AP report, over 1,000 global companies, such as FedEx and Costco, are suing the Trump administration for refunds of the tariff duties paid since February 2025. It remains to be seen how each lawsuit will be handled.

How People Are Reacting to Nintendo’s Lawsuit Against the US Government

While the topic is serious and tackles multiple lawsuits against the US government’s tariffs, the internet reacted mostly with memes and jokes. Twitter user @KinguGaiden couldn’t help but note the timing of the news, as just one day earlier, the official White House account used Pokemon Pokopia for MAGA propaganda.

Another user by the name of @SelenaAnaRg shared a Megamind meme about how Nintendo’s legal team is not “the bad guy” anymore, as many fans support this action. Other comments agree with the sentiment, though not without a bit of dark irony, stating that Nintendo’s legal team is finally not suing young fans for piracy or copyright infringement, or that fans are siding with Nintendo for a change. Others still note that, even if Nintendo wins, it will collect the money from the lawsuit for itself, rather than refund customers.

Nintendo’s Issues Are Far From Over

Nintendo’s tariff lawsuit is just the second run-in that the Trump administration has had with Nintendo and its partners in the first full week of March. On March 5, The White House posted a picture on social media using the font of Pokemon Pokopia. The message of “Make America Great Again” has been used as a slogan for the Trump administration and its policies. However, The Pokemon Company stated on March 6 that it was not involved in The White House’s social media post, and did not give the Trump administration permission to use the Pokemon IP for any political purpose. The company said, “Our mission is to bring the world together, and that mission is not affiliated with any political viewpoint or agenda.”

However, Nintendo still has to face the looming possibility of a Switch 2 price increase in 2026. The ongoing global DRAM shortage crisis is causing the prices of RAM kits and solid-state drives (SSDs) to spike across the globe. As companies like Sony and Microsoft mull over potential price changes, Nintendo stated that it was keeping an eye on the global DRAM crisis. Although Nintendo stated that it was not currently affected by the DRAM price increases, the RAM crisis could still impact the company’s bottom line in the months ahead. As of this writing, the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 remained at its launch day MSRP of $449.99 before taxes.

Source: Aftermath