What just happened? Not for the first time, Nokia phones are being killed off in the United States. HMD Global, the company that licenses the Nokia brand, says it is scaling back its US operations due to the “challenging” geopolitical and economic environment. Even its own HMD-branded devices are no longer being sold from its website in the United States.

HMD’s statement, posted on Threads by Wired’s Julian Chokkattu, does suggest that the tariffs are what prompted the company’s decision. Given that it makes budget and feature phones, it’s likely that the Finnish firm could not keep prices as low as it wanted in the US.

HMD has been removing its devices from sale in the US over the last few months, while also discontinuing older devices – many listings for Nokia phones were updated at the start of the year to show they have been discontinued.

While remaining HMD handset stock is still available to buy from Amazon.com and other retailers in the US, the “Where to buy” buttons on the firm’s US website no longer work.

HMD did say in its statement that it will continue to honor warranty coverage and service for existing products in the US via the company’s global support team. It also said it was committed to supporting its US staff during this transition.

It was back in 2016 when HMD Global signed a licensing deal with Microsoft that gave it exclusive use of the Nokia brand on mobile phones and tablets for the next decade.

In September 2023, HMD announced that it would be launching its own handset brand. The company’s licensing agreement to use the Nokia name expires in March 2026.

Only four HMD-branded phones have launched in the US since they were announced, and there has only been one – the HMD Fusion – to arrive since September 2024, despite several international launches.

Nokia feature phones remain available elsewhere in the world, and rumors claim five more will be released before the licensing agreement ends next year. Once it runs out, Nokia is legally free to grant the name to other manufacturers. HMD could also remain a non-exclusive licensee, or Nokia could follow BlackBerry and decline to license phones at all.