Donald Trump is set to be the 47th president of the United States, and he already has a few noteworthy policy proposals that could go into effect early in his term — which might have significant consequences for gamers in particular.
The most notable of these is his proposed tariffs on Chinese exports. The U.S. has traditionally had a robust trade relationship with China, but during his campaign, Trump frequently said he would impose a baseline 60% tariff on Chinese goods. What might not be as obvious, however, is that these tariffs would largely end up being paid by the American people.
The way tariffs work is that China wouldn’t be paying that increase; instead, it would be the companies importing the goods. With companies having to foot the bill for tariffs, the price of goods would likely increase significantly to compensate.
The Consumer Technology Association, which organizes the trade show CES, published a study in October investigating the impact a proposed 60% tariff could have, as reported by Gizmodo. These effects would, of course, affect the CTA itself, but that’s a good indicator of how similar companies may already be preparing for the worst.
The study examines 10 different consumer tech products, including laptops, connected devices, video game consoles and computer accessories such as monitors.
“Across the board, the tariffs will cause a significant price increase for the U.S. consumer,” the study states. Video game console prices could increase by up to 4%, while laptops and tablets would see a 46% increase, and smartphones 26%.
To put that in context, the recently-released PS5 Pro markets for $700, and with that increase, it would jump up to $1000. Already expensive GPUs by Nvidia and AMD would rise to well over $1000 as well. Nintendo also has plans to release the successor to the Nintendo Switch soon, and a more affordable price point might quickly evaporate if the tariffs go into place.
The big question right now is how quickly Trump will put these tariffs into place, followed by how quickly companies will respond. If you’ve been looking to invest in a new console or upgrade your monitor, graphics card or anything else, you should do it sooner rather than later.
