Now That Trump’s Tariffs Are Deemed Illegal, Will Tech Prices Go Down?
It’s official: Most of President Trump’s tariffs are illegal . On Friday, the Supreme Court struck down key presidential economic orders in a 6-3 decision, ending controversial policies that increased taxes on every American household by an estimated $1,000 , raised consumer prices , and alienated key U.S. allies .
Not all of Trump’s tariffs should be repealed as a result of this ruling. The court acknowledged that presidents have the authority “to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited size, duration, and scope.” Instead, the court found that the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were improperly imposed, as the administration “fails to cite any law” of Congress that would authorize the use of IEEPA to impose tariffs. This means that the tariffs on steel and aluminum can remain in place, as they were imposed under other laws, but both the “reciprocal” tariffs imposed on other countries and the flat 25 percent tariff on goods from countries like Canada, China, and Mexico cannot currently remain in effect.
This raises a host of questions. Will the Trump administration try to impose these tariffs through other means, completely bypassing the Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)? Will companies that have already paid the tariffs get their money back? And perhaps most pressing for the average consumer: will prices on everyday goods like electronics finally fall?
How will the Supreme Court’s decision affect prices of technology goods?
There’s no definitive answer to this question, as there’s no precedent. Trump is the first president to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as justification for imposing tariffs, and thus this is a huge U-turn for which there’s no precedent.
The reason tariffs cause inflation, or raise the price of goods, is because they make it more expensive for American companies to import foreign goods. This is often confused: tariffs tax the importer of a product, not necessarily the manufacturer of that product. When a company exports its product to the US with an applicable tariff, it doesn’t pay it directly; the company importing the product does. As a result, importers raise prices to compensate. Take Nintendo: the company raised its initial suggested retail prices for Switch 2 accessories, such as the Pro Controller and Joy-Con 2, as well as the Switch console itself , after the tariffs were imposed. Since importing these goods into the US is more expensive, prices are raised to give the company a cushion. Things could have been worse, as Nintendo didn’t raise the price of the Switch 2 or its games—though it’s unclear whether these suggested retail prices were set with the tariffs in mind.
So, one might expect that if these tariffs were eliminated, prices would fall. If Nintendo felt the need to raise the price of the Pro Controller by $15 in response to the tariffs, it might change its mind now that Trump’s tax is no longer a burden on American importers. While anything is possible, I don’t think it’s very likely. Prices for many products can rise quickly, especially when factors like tariffs are taken into account, but they can take a very long time to fall—if at all. Some economists believe that eliminating tariffs will slow price increases, but not stop them: the effect will be disinflationary rather than deflationary.
Perhaps we, consumers, are to blame. If companies raise prices in response to tariffs, and consumers continue to buy these products regardless, this shows that the market supports these prices. Consumers don’t necessarily see the effect of the tariffs disappear, so why lower prices? In any case, it’s in the company’s interest to do so, since it will sell products at higher prices without paying the tariff. If the company has been struggling to sell products at inflated prices, perhaps its prices will drop: if Nintendo sells significantly fewer Switch consoles after the tariff increase, it might lower the price to stimulate sales. But it’s really hard to say for sure without inside information.
Not all price increases are due to customs duties.
Of course, there are other factors driving prices beyond tariffs. Computer components, especially random-access memory (RAM), come to mind. These components are becoming more expensive and harder to find not so much because of tariffs, but because AI companies are buying them up for data processing . Suddenly, anything that runs on these components is at risk of rising prices, as one segment of the market experiences massive demand. It doesn’t matter whether RAM imports become cheaper next month after the tariffs are lifted if there simply isn’t any left to buy.
This means that prices for your game consoles, laptops, smart displays, cars—anything that runs on RAM, graphics cards, and CPUs—could rise if component production can’t be increased to meet demand. The US Supreme Court may have lifted tariffs on these imported goods, but that may not lower prices or, worse, stop their rapid rise. Micron , the only US-based RAM manufacturer, didn’t expect the memory shortage to end this year, even before the tariffs were announced. The company is investing in new component production capacity, but that takes time, meaning price increases could continue for the foreseeable future.
Don’t expect tariff waivers for large purchases.
We can speculate all day about how lifting these tariffs will impact prices, but that’s just speculation. Companies will do what they see fit with prices, and there’s nothing in the Supreme Court’s decision that tells us whether our iPhones, Switches, or Echos will be cheaper later this year. Prices could fall sharply, decline slightly, stay the same, rise slowly, or rise rapidly. My best guess is that the average price of a consumer product previously affected by these tariffs will remain roughly the same as it is now, barring any other significant market changes—but again, that’s just speculation.
So my advice is to base your purchasing decisions on other, more reliable factors: research the products you’re interested in to determine which offer the best value; compare prices across stores, both brick-and-mortar and online; and wait for traditional sales if you’re looking for great deals.
The most real risk of price increases right now is the shortage of computer components. If you were planning to buy a new computer or a device that relies heavily on these components (such as a gaming console), now might be a good time to buy. Prices could easily rise, but it will take a long time for them to come down.