Nintendo may be best known for boss battles on screen, but its latest showdown is in a D.C. courtroom. Nintendo of America filed suit in federal trade court on Friday, asking a judge to force the U.S. government to return tariffs the company says were unlawfully collected under President Trump’s 2025 emergency orders and to pay interest on those refunds. The move lands while lower courts and federal agencies are still untangling how to send back billions collected under the now-invalid program.
In a 14-page complaint filed on March 6, Nintendo named the Treasury Department, Homeland Security, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and several agency heads. The company is asking the court to “promptly refund, with interest” duties it pegs at more than $200 billion. The complaint and related filings are available in a court document uploaded to Scribd, which lays out Nintendo’s requests for reliquidation and, if necessary, a money judgment.
Customs and Border Protection told the Court of International Trade in a separate declaration that it had collected roughly $166 billion in IEEPA duties but could not immediately comply with an order to refund them, and that it is building a new ACE process it expects to be ready within 45 days. That timeline and the agency’s concerns were reported by Reuters, which reviewed CBP’s court filing and the judge’s recent status conference.
Nintendo’s filing says the tariffs disrupted its supply chain and helped force a delay in Switch 2 preorders. The company has said it kept the console’s headline price as initially advertised while warning that accessory prices would rise. Those operational impacts were highlighted in reporting of the complaint and company statements by WRAL.
Legal backdrop
The suit follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s Feb. 20 ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the broad tariffs the president imposed, a decision that left the mechanics of refunds to lower courts. A federal appeals court also recently rejected the administration’s bid to delay the refund process, and judges are now pressing agencies for practical plans to return hundreds of billions, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
Who else is suing
Nintendo is the latest in a wave of litigation. Hundreds of importers have challenged the IEEPA duties and major shippers and retailers, from FedEx to Costco and affiliates of CVS, have already filed claims or are preparing to do so. Coverage by trade outlets and legal specialists, including MLex, shows the litigation multiplying as companies race to preserve their rights.
What comes next
CBP has proposed a one-time, ACE-based declaration that would let importers list entries subject to IEEPA duties, have CBP validate them and then receive a single Treasury payment for the aggregate refund. Officials warn the work is unprecedented and will take time to implement. Trade-industry advisories say importers should watch liquidation deadlines and consider protective filings while agencies build the new functionality. Greenberg Traurig summarized the operational steps CBP outlined in its declaration to the court.
Legal implications
Nintendo’s complaint asks for reliquidation of entries, injunctions against further collection of IEEPA duties, and refunds with interest, remedies spelled out in the company’s filing available via Scribd. If the court orders refunds and the government follows through with CBP’s proposed process, Treasury and CBP will have to reconcile tens of billions in payments. If the government appeals, the schedule for distribution could stretch into months.
The dispute will play out in Washington’s federal trade courts, but it has direct ties to the Seattle region, where Nintendo of America handles imports and distribution for the U.S. market. For retailers, importers and gamers, the next several weeks will determine whether refunds lower near term price pressure or whether the money stays tied up in litigation and agency workarounds.
