One of the biggest gaming companies in the world is now looking to recoup tariff money from the United States, according to court filings obtained by WRAL News.
On Friday, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against the United States Treasury Department, United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of the United States Trade Representative and several members of the Trump administration, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
A spokesperson for Nintedo told WRAL News that they could confirmed the company filed the request but had “nothing else to share on this topic.”
Aftermath was the first to report the lawsuit.
The court filing comes days after a federal judge ruled that companies are entitled to refunds from Trump’s tariffs, most of which were overturned by the Supreme Court in February. Nintendo’s lawsuit mostly focused on refunds from those tariffs.
“This action concerns defendants’ initiation and administration of unlawful trade measures that have, to date, resulted in the collection of more than $200 billion in tariffs on imports for nearly all countries,” lawyers representing Nintendo wrote in the complaint.
In the lawsuit, lawyers claimed that President Donald Trump, since Feb. 1, 2025, had implemented “unlawful” executive orders imposing tariffs on imports over several countries.
The company is asking the U.S. Court of International Trade, which has jurisdiction over issues related to customs and international trade laws in the United States, to refund the company money paid in duties to tariffs with interest.
In a court filing obtained by WRAL News, CBP said it had collected roughly $166 billion in tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), but it could not comply with an order to refund those tariffs.
CBP said that a new process for refunds could be ready in 45 days.
Japan, where Nintendo is based, was one of the many countries included under tariffs imposed through the IEEPA, which was implemented by the Trump administration on April 2, 2025, as part of what the administration called “Liberation Day.”
While several countries were given a 10% tariff, Japan was hit with a 24% “reciprocal tariff,” and Vietnam was hit with a 46% tariff. Many of Nintendo’s products are produced outside of Japan in other countries, including Vietnam and China.
The initial announcement forced the company to delay preorders for the Nintendo Switch 2, which the company, at the time, squarely blamed on tariffs by the United States and “evolving market conditions.” The company kept the price for the console as it initially advertised, but said prices on accessories for the console would be more expensive.
The tariffs were briefly put on hold, but Trump announced in July of 2025 that 25% tariffs on South Korea and Japan would be in place.
Though many of the tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court, Trump later imposed new tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Section 122, which has never been invoked, allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 15%. They are limited to five months unless extended by Congress. Hundreds of companies have sued since the implementation of these new tariffs, including Costco and FedEx.
WRAL News has reached out to the U.S. Treasury Department, and did not immediately hear back.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.