Nintendo to move Switch production to Vietnam on tariff fears

Nintendo plans to move some of the production of its Switch consoles to Vietnam to avoid looming tariffs. Photo by Shutterstock/Wachiwit.

With Washington threatening to impose 25 percent tariffs on more Chinese goods, production of these consoles will be moved to plants in Vietnam owned by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, Nikkei Asian Review reported.

It is now almost completely manufactured in China by contract manufacturers, including Foxconn. 

Foxconn has three facilities in Vietnam to manufacture computers, car parts and other electronic products in the northern Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces.

Last year some 40 percent of the nearly 17 million Switch consoles produced were sold in the Americas, chiefly in the U.S., Nintendo's biggest market by sales.

The U.S. has so far slapped a 25 percent tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, and Beijing has retaliated with tariffs on $60 billion worth of American imports.

However, with no sign of the trade war ending anytime soon, many manufacturers are moving their production out of China.

Japanese consumer electronics company Sharp said in May it plans to move its personal computers production to a new plant in Vietnam, which is expected to begin operations after October.

Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said the same month his company is shifting footwear sourcing from China to Vietnam.