Nintendo delay the starting of pre-order for Nintendo Switch 2, claim new tariff making it difficult to supply in lower cost for the US market. Nintendo Strategic consideration to ensure the components availability and stabilizing manufacturing cost made the delay in pre-order.
Specific Tariffs on Chinese Goods
On 2 April 2025, US administration announced universal tariff of 10% on all the import goods, With specific tariffs on Chinese Goods, the US imposed 34% tariff on imports from China. This affect on many products which are essential in electronics and this count under an unfair trade practices.
China Retaliates to Trump’s New Tariffs
China restrict on key materials as part of its sweeping response to Trump’s tariffs, China produces nearly 90% of the world’s refined rare earths material which used in many electronic devices. Electronics manufacturers are facing challenges to find these rare earth elements, many are used in other industries like clean energy and EV.
Implications for the Electronic Industry
Global crisis are increasing because of dependencies in the materials which are imported mostly from China especially electronics, The heightened tariffs on Chinese imports are likely raising the production cost of the product in electronics companies. Manufacturing consumes higher cost will affect on the price of the product which will reflect on the sales of the goods.
Potential price hikes
Some analysts says that the products which projected within the US like iPhone have price hike due to these tariffs.
Unavailability of the Goods
China highly restricted to export their rare earth elements could disrupt the availability and production timeline of electronic devices. This will affect not just US but other countries too there are seven categories of heavy materials that are used in large companies like Apple, Tesla and Lockheed Martin.
Nintendo statement:
Pre-order for Nintendo Switch 2 in the US is delayed because of the uncertainty in the emerging market condition and to assess the potential impact of new tariffs by the administration.
‘The launch date is still unchanged – 5 June, 2025’. Pre-order date of 9 April, 2025 has postponed and will later announced in some time.
Read also: US Tariffs Hit India Jewellery Exports
Nintendo’s Strategic Considerations:
The company needs time to evaluate the cost of the production and import costs for the Nintendo Switch 2 as it affected by the recent development in new tariffs.
The appropriate price of the product will benefit for the company and maintain the stability of the price to balance competitiveness.
It hard for electronic companies like Nintendo to ensure the availability of the elements and manufacturing schedules remain on track to get-ready the product till launch date.
Conclusion
Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order delays, not starting from 9 April, 2025 but the launch date 5 June 2025 is not changed. The reason for delay is Nintendo needs to ensure the production cost and element’s availability before the launch date, it stated that this development are caused by the impact of new tariffs by Trump’s administration. The company is ensuring that they can deliver the product to consumers without unforeseen complications or cost escalations.
