Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs That Have Caused Video Game Console Price Increases

by

On February 20th, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that most tariffs put in place by former President Donald Trump were unconstitutional. These tariffs, which impacted the prices of gaming consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, were originally justified by the Trump administration using a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The administration used this law to impose tariffs on countries like China, negatively affecting the gaming industry.

Beginning in early 2025, during the start of his second term, Trump began using tariffs as a response to issues with other countries, relying on a law called the IEEPA to justify the action. These tariffs increased the cost of goods coming from nations like China, Canada, and Mexico, and those higher costs were ultimately felt by consumers. The administration explained that immigration and drug trafficking were the primary reasons for using the IEEPA. However, while the IEEPA allows the government to restrict certain financial activities during a national emergency, it doesn’t specifically authorize the use of tariffs. Once in place, these tariffs had a broad impact on the world economy. Notably, pre-orders for the Switch 2 in the US were delayed by a few weeks, but Nintendo’s new console maintained its original price and release date.

The Supreme Court Rules Against Trump’s Tariffs

The Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration in a 6-3 decision, finding that the President did not have the authority to impose most tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The case, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, argued in November 2025, centered on whether the President or Congress has the power to impose taxes and tariffs. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, explained that the Constitution gives this authority to Congress, not the President. Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson, Gorsuch, and Barrett joined the majority opinion.

TopMob | Image source: SupremeCourt.gov

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined by Justices Thomas and Alito, disagreed with the Court’s ruling. He stated that while the tariffs being debated might not be good policy, they were legally permissible based on the text of the law, historical practice, and previous court decisions. Despite the tariffs being linked to issues like the cancellation of a physical collector’s edition for the game Resident Evil Requiem, the Court did maintain some tariffs on goods such as steel. Former President Trump, disagreeing with the Court’s decision, stated he had other options and announced a new 10% global tariff, though it is only set to last for 150 days.

Don’t Expect Prices to Come Down Anytime Soon

Despite a recent setback for the Trump administration’s economic policies, video game consoles and PC parts won’t see price changes right away. A shortage of RAM is still causing prices for RAM and SSDs to jump, largely because data centers using artificial intelligence are buying up so many essential parts. This shortage has even led some stores, like Costco, to remove RAM from their displayed computers to prevent theft. While RAM is still available, the higher prices are making it more expensive to build a new computer.

Recent difficulties have pushed Valve to postpone the release of the Steam Machine until early 2026. The Steam Deck is currently out of stock in the US, and Valve anticipates ongoing, occasional shortages. Given the uncertain outlook for the Steam Machine, it’s unclear when customers can expect prices to stabilize or availability to improve.

Sources: Kotaku, AP

Read More

2026-02-21 01:36