Nintendo Sues U.S. Government for Tariff Refunds
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UNITED STATES COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE
NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC., Plaintiff, v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY; SCOTT BESSENT, Secretary of the Treasury; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; KRISTI NOEM, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; OFFICE OF UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE; JAMIESON GREER, U.S. Trade Representative; U.S. CUSTOMS & BORDER PROTECTION; RODNEY SCOTT, U.S. Customs & Border Protection Commissioner; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; HOWARD LUTNICK, Secretary of Commerce, Defendants.
Court No. 1:26-cv-1540
COMPLAINT
Plaintiff, Nintendo of America Inc. (“Nintendo”), by and through its attorneys, alleges and states as follows: 1.
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 from nearly all countries.
2.
This Complaint focuses on Defendants’ unlawful imposition of tariffs (“IEEPA Duties”) founded on President Trump’s executive orders invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, 50 U.S.C. § 1701
et seq.
, (“IEEPA”) to justify same. Those executive orders (the “Executive Orders”) include:
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i.
Exec. Order No. 14193 —
Imposing Duties to Address the Flow of Illicit Drugs Across Our Northern Border
, 90 Fed. Reg. 9113 (Feb. 1, 2025) (the “Canada Tariff EO”);
ii.
Exec. Order No. 14194 —
Imposing Duties to Address the Situation at Our Southern Border
, 90 Fed. Reg. 9117 (Feb. 1, 2025) (the “Mexico Tariff EO”);
iii.
Exec. Order No. 14195 —
Imposing Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China
, 90 Fed. Reg. 9121 (Feb. 1, 2025) (the “China Tariff EO”);
iv.
Exec. Order No. 14200 —
Amendment to Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China
, 90 Fed. Reg. 9277 (Feb. 11, 2025) (the “Amended China Tariff EO”);
v.
Exec. Order No. 14228 —
Further Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China
, 90 Fed. Reg. 11463 (Feb. 11, 2025) (the “Second Amended China Tariff EO”);
vi.
Exec. Order No. 14257 —
Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits
, 90 Fed. Reg. 15041 (April 2, 2025) (the “Liberation Day Tariffs EO”);
vii.
Exec. Order No. 14259 —
Amendment to Reciprocal Tariffs and Updated Duties as Applied to Low-Value Imports from the People’s Republic of China
, 90 Fed. Reg. 15509 (April 14, 2025) (the “Amended Liberation Day Tariffs EO”);
viii.
Exec. Order No. 14266 —
Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates to Reflect Trading Partner Retaliation and Alignment
, 90 Fed. Reg. 15625 (April 9, 2025) (the “Second Amended Liberation Day Tariffs EO”);
ix.
Exec. Order No. 14323 —
Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil
, 90 Fed. Reg. 37739 (July 30, 2025) (the “Brazil Tariff EO”); and
x.
Exec. Order No. 14329 —
Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of the Russian Federation
, 90 Fed. Reg. 38701 (August 6, 2025) (the “India Tariff EO”). 3.
Defendants have imposed, adjusted, and expanded coverage of IEEPA Duties under these Executive Orders via executive actions and administrative directives.
4.
Plaintiff imports goods from countries impacted by the IEEPA Duties (“Impacted Countries”) and has paid the IEEPA Duties on same.
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3 5.
The IEEPA does not authorize or otherwise provide justification for the imposition of the IEEPA Duties. Both this Court and the Federal Circuit have issued rulings confirming same.
V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump
, 149 F.4th 1312 (Fed. Cir. 2025),
cert. granted
, No. 25-250,
2025 WL 2601020 (U.S. Sept. 9, 2025). On appeal to the United States Supreme Court,
V.O.S. Selections
was consolidated with
Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump
, 784 F. Supp. 3d 209 (DC 2025). The consolidated case, herein referred to as “
Learning Resources,
” was argued on November 20, 2025. 6.
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in
Learning Resources
, affirming this Court and the Federal Circuit’s rulings in
V.O.S. Selections
and striking down the IEEPA Duties.
Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump
, No. 24-1287, slip op. at 20 (U.S. Feb. 20, 2026) (affirming
V.O.S Selections
). 7.
Later that day, President Trump issued an executive order invalidating the Executive Orders and ordering that IEEPA Duties no longer be collected. Exec. Order No. 14389 — Ending Certain Tariff Actions, 91 Fed. Reg. 9437 (Feb. 25, 2026) (the “IEEPA Duties Termination EO”). The IEEPA Duties Termination EO did not address refunding of the illegally collected IEEPA Duties. 8.
While the Opinion of the Court in
Learning Resources
did not address issuing refunds, it did confirm that this Court has exclusive jurisdiction over challenges to the IEEPA Duties.
Learning Resources
, slip op.
at 5. 9.
Plaintiff requests that, consistent with the Supreme Court’s ruling in
Learning Resources
and the Federal Circuit’s and this Court’s rulings in
V.O.S. Selections
, this Court order the prompt refund, with interest, of any IEEPA duties paid by Plaintiff regardless of liquidation status, and provide any and all remedies that the Court deems appropriate.
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