Playasia, a popular retailer for buying video games, toys, and more from Asia, says that it “does not expect” the Trump administration’s planned import rule changes on Chinese-made goods to apply to “game-related orders” because “those orders will not include Chinese-manufactured goods.”
‘Video games are not manufactured in China,’ Playasia reassures tariff-wary customers
The company says that ‘video games are currently primarily manufactured in Japan.’
The company says that ‘video games are currently primarily manufactured in Japan.’
Image: The Verge, Getty Images
is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.
On May 2nd, the Trump administration is planning to end the de minimis exemption that allows imports under $800 to enter the US duty-free and is set to impose new tariffs on goods imported from China.
But “the most important piece of information for game collectors to know is that video games are not manufactured in China,” the company says in its post on X. “Video games are currently primarily manufactured in Japan, with few exceptions being manufactured in Southeast Asia.”
Playasia also says that “many other categories are very similar to video games in that the products are primarily produced outside of China, such as: game soundtracks, books, and movies.” But the company is planning to add a “country of origin” field to product pages in the “coming weeks.”
“Most products on sale at Playasia are not of Chinese-manufacturing origin,” Playasia says. But it will “clarify” the “situation regarding importing” after May 2nd.
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