Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony sound the alarm about the 'enormous impact' of Trump’s proposed China tariffs
Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have united in hopes of defeating the final boss that is President Trump's proposed China tariffs.
In a joint letter submitted to the Office of the United States Trade Representative's general counsel, the video game companies speak in opposition to Trump's proposed tariffs, which they say would have an "enormous impact" and bring about "undue economic harm." Trump previously imposed a 25 percent tariff on $250 billion of Chinese imports and has threatened to impose tariffs on $300 billion more, per The New York Times. Video game consoles would be affected, and 96 percent of the consoles imported into the United States last year were manufactured in China, the letter says.
The companies say that these tariffs would "add significant costs that would depress sales of video game consoles" and that a price increase of 25 percent "will likely put a new video game console out of reach for many American families who we expect to be in the market for a console this holiday season." Consumers will pay $840 million more than they normally would, the letter says, adding that console sales going down would "unquestionably" lead to a decline in video game sales as well.
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On that note, the companies warn that the tariffs will also harm game developers, accessory companies, and retailers and that, therefore, the "ripple effect of harm could be dramatic."
Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have asked the United States to remove video game consoles from its list of products that would be affected by the tariffs. Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and hold trade talks this weekend, and he said on Wednesday that should the trade talks fail, "we'll do less business with them."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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