PCs and Smartphones May Be Exempt from Trump's Tariffs, But Consoles Like PS5 May Not

Update [Mon 14th Apr 2025, 11:15am]: A small update almost as soon as we posted this story, US president Donald Trump has implied there will be no exceptions on tariffs for electronics.

He, of course, said the reports are false and that “they are just moving to a different tariff bucket”.

“We are taking a look at semiconductors and the whole electronics supply chain in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations,” he said.

So, it seems like PCs and smartphones may be back in the bucket with games consoles, but it’s almost impossible to say what’s really going on here.

Again, we’ll update as soon as we get some kind of clarification about what all this means for PS5, and the gaming industry at large.

Original Story: Writing about US president Donald Trump’s tariffs is a bit like trying to fire an arrow at a moving target: they’re changing every day – and sometimes multiple times per day.

But as the levies threaten to have a dramatic impact on the video game industry, it’s important we share the situation as it currently stands, even if this is an evolving story that will require revisiting.

The latest is that PCs and smartphones will be exempt from tariffs, and dedicated video game consoles like the PS5 will not. It’s unclear if this is just a clerical error or intentional, but we’re hopeful the picture will begin to stabilise in due course.

Trump has already walked back many of his policies, with tariffs from most major countries currently paused for 90 days.

However, a tit-for-tat with China has seen it threaten 145% tariffs on goods from the country, which manufactures many electronics, including video game consoles and accessories.

As it stands, forward-thinking from Sony will shield it from any of the levies, as it doubled it supply chain and stockpiled PS5 consoles in the US prior to the introduction of the tariffs. That should buy the company some time to see how things escalate.

In the meantime, it’s announced increased console prices in Europe, citing a “challenging economic environment”.

It’s almost impossible to guess what will happen next, due to the unpredictability of this story so far. It looks like the tariffs are going to get watered down, and with PCs and smartphones given an exemption, we imagine the video game industry will lobby for the same kind of concessions.

But all of this drama is putting a huge strain on an already stretched global economy, and it seems inevitable that prices are going to rise regardless.

We’ll keep you updated.