The United States and China Have decided to ease out trade dispute started by President Donald Trump in 2018. Two nations have recently signed the ‘Phase 1’ trade deal. This deal is going to be crucial to Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo as the US will not apply new tariffs on video game consoles. As per the trade agreement, there will be an increase in US exports to China. The deal includes certain mechanism as well to protect the intellectual property in China. The US and China have been indulged in an ugly trade dispute throughout 2019, which has resulted in a huge economy slow down.
Console manufacturers have requested the US government to dilute the tariff conditions. President Trump has been planning to apply a 25 percent import tax on many Chinese goods by August including PlayStation 5 and Xbox. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have asked the US government not to go ahead with the huge tariff plan. Although President Trump did not entertain the request directly, however, he delayed it by 15 December 2019. The US authorities have been working on a trade deal between the two countries. Nevertheless, now the set of tariffs is no more applicable. Although the US has provided a little relief but it does not nullify tariffs that are already in place. Americans will continue to pay those taxes.
This year is supposed to be quite vital for all the console manufacturers as there are many new products are lined up to be launched. Sony is going to launch PlayStation 5 while Microsoft has Xbox series X. At the same time, Nintendo might release Switch Pro, as per the reports. All these new devices are expected to be expensive. PlayStation and Xbox will use advanced AMD Ryzen CPUs and innovative SSD storage. Sources indicate that these devices are going to be sold for more than $500. All three-console manufacturers are thrilled to launch their new products, as tariffs are no longer looming on their way.
