Sony may be in trouble. Two U.S. citizens from California have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, arguing that it is illegitimate for them to raise the prices of their products to maintain their profits due to tariffs imposed by the government of Donald Trump.
Why? Because ultimately there have been no such tariffs and the government is going to compensate them for any losses they may have suffered as a result.
An economically irresponsible government
The full story is that, as promised, Donald Trump imposed harsh tariffs in the country, something that the Supreme Court of the United States annulled shortly after. Many companies raised their prices to offset the impact that this increase would have on their accounts, passing the cost onto citizens.
But upon annulling the tariffs, several companies sued the US government for the illegal application of these tariffs, potentially receiving up to 160 billion dollars in total refunds. And here lies the heart of the lawsuit. They consider it illegitimate to receive money from the government and, furthermore, to pass the cost of these increases onto users.
In fact, the laws work in their favor. The consumer protection law states that these price increases are not legal, giving them a chance to fight in court. This is further emphasized because it is not the only class action of this kind. Nintendo is also facing an identical lawsuit for the same reasons: American consumers do not want to pay twice for the loss of profits of companies.
Although everything is up in the air, how these lawsuits are decided could very well affect much more than the US. Both Sony and Nintendo have raised the prices of their products worldwide, and this could force them to lower them not only in the US but also outside of it. However, for that to happen, the courts will first have to make a ruling.
