Nintendo has reportedly moved some of its production on the Nintendo Switch away from China, in response to new U.S trade Tariffs that would be imposed on Chinese electronics.
First reported by The Wall Street Journal, members of Nintendo's supply chain have stated that the company is planning to move some of its production away from China, which has been the primary base of operations for the console's manufacturing. The WSJ, who previously reported a rumor of two New Switch consoles being in development, speculates that production is moving to Southeast Asia. A Nintendo spokesperson has declined to comment on those claims.
Nintendo's move out of China is in response to the recent increase in import tariffs on Chinese made products by the Trump Administration. The tariffs have been increased from 10% to 25%, with the hope of imposing tariffs on Chinese goods worth $200 billion, and further tariffs on exports close to $300 billion.
The large tariff increases, however, have been sharply criticized by economists for causing more harm to the U.S economy over the Chinese economy, which is estimated to harm manufacturing jobs in the U.S on certain key exports towards China, who have also raised tariff prices on American made products. This includes part of the agriculture industry, which the Trump Administration has bailed out twice since in the past year.
While the Trump Administration believes that any economic hardship will be in the short-term, the impact that the "trade war" between the two countries can have ripple effects in neighboring economies, though everything is currently only speculation as to what will happen if the dispute continues.
For video games, the effects of the possible trade war between the U.S and China can see a massive increase in prices on at the very least game consoles, which fall under the umbrella of Chinese-made products due to every major publisher manufacturing consoles in the country. Tabletop gaming will also be affected, with tabletop products made in China also being hit by the 25% tariff increase.
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