Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs on Apple If iPhones Not Made in US

[JohnSJ]

Source: Bloomberg

President Donald Trump threatened Apple Inc. with a tariff of at least 25% if the tech company does not manufacture iPhones in the US.

"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday. "If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank your for your attention to this matter!"

US equity futures dropped to session lows on Trump's announcement, with Nasdaq 100 contracts leading the decline. Apple shares sank 4%.

The tech giant has become a frequent Trump target in his push to force companies to bring more manufacturing jobs to the US. Apple makes most of its iPhones in China and has no smartphone production in the US. The company has promised to hire more workers in the US and pledged to spend billions domestically over the next four years. The supply chain for Apple's popular phones has been concentrated in China for years.

Trump earlier this month also raised pressure on Apple, saying he had asked Tim Cook, its chief executive officer, to stop building plants in India -- part of an effort to shift production from China -- and instead focus on the US.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's threat.



Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-23/trump-threatens-25-tariffs-on-apple-if-iphones-not-made-in-us?srnd=homepage-americas

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So if Apple moves all their manufacturing to the US, how high will that cause their prices to go up, verses if trump puts a 25% tariff on their prices?

Trump: is recommending a 50% tariff on the EU starting in June is also being reported by Bloomberg.

where is tapper to talk about how unhinged trump is?

For some perspective:

Estimates suggest that iPhones manufactured domestically could cost $3,500.

[Prairie Gates]

1. There's that old "free market conservatism" again

Welcome to the command economy.

[Renew Deal]

2. They probably can't stand up a factory before he's out of office.

Because it requires high tech equipment and skilled employees that want to do this kind of work. The best option for Apple is trying to run out the clock in court, and do more to elect Democrats in 2026.

[forgotmylogin]

12. Right, are they supposed to make phones out of sticks and twigs?

The parts for electronics aren't made in the US. I think Apple does a nominal bit of assembly and packaging to justify "made in California" stickers.

[LearnedHand]

3. Looks as if Tim Cook's anticipatory TSF fluffing did no good

Who could have predicted that outcome? Wait, TIM SNYDER did when he urged people and companies not to obey in advance. 😡

[Snoopy 7]

4. I'm so tired

As the late great Madeline Kahn once said "I'm so tired". But as for me I'm so tired of every time something like this is posted or brought up in the media why aren't people pointing out that it means THAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTIES 44 year experiment has failed. Everything that is wrong in this time is due to the rethuglicans political philosophy. The days of trickledown economics has failed...

[Ursus Rex]

5. Making them domestically would prob add the equivalent of at least a 100% tariff ...

.. once "the" factory is built in 3-5 years.

Real estate swindlers and zero-margin tech bros have NO CONCEPT of actual industry or anything that goes with it.

[flamingdem]

6. He's shaking Apple down for $$$

They're already giving a half a trillion for the Open AI project.

But the maniac wants more. He wants in on the Apple money pile no matter what.

[Ilsa]

9. This right here.

When has he ever done anything that wouldn't enrich himself?

[Wiz Imp]

7. Beyond idiotic...

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/11/heres-how-much-a-made-in-the-usa-iphone-would-cost.html

As it’s largely a theoretical exercise, there’s a broad range of guesses as to how much an all-American iPhone might cost.

Bank of America Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan said in a note Thursday that the iPhone 16 Pro, which is currently priced at $1,199, could increase 25% based on labor costs alone. That would make it a roughly $1,500 device.

Wedbush’s Dan Ives pegged a U.S. iPhone’s price at $3,500 shortly after Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement, estimating that Apple would need to spend $30 billion over three years to move 10% of its supply chain to the U.S.

So, a US made iphone could easily cost $1000 or more above the current cost of the phones. In addition, Apple would need to spend at least $30 billion to move just 10% of their manufacturing to the US and that would take at least 3 years to accomplish. What does he think this threat is going to accomplish? Moving manufacturing to the US couldn't be accomplished until Trump is out of office, and the result of moving that manufacturing is Americans would have to pay a significantly higher price for their iphones. It's totally insane.

[thesquanderer]

8. Once Cook et al realize that you're never done appeasing Trump's whims, maybe they will do what Amazon planned,

on their Haul products, to show how much of the price was due to tariffs.

If you can't join 'em, fight 'em.

[Brenda]

13. Apple, Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot should all do that.

Break down the price showing the buyer exactly how much is a tariff.

You nailed it with the never appease his whims comment.

But it seems like all of these billionaire boys don't even really care about the chaos or even BRAND deterioration as long as they get their tax cuts.

However, I bet you not one of them will eat any tariffs. They'll pass it along to customers. Who should just boycott.

[ET Awful]

10. Well, making them here would double the cost, so a 25% tarriff is still more appealing to Apple

How much is he imposing in tarriffs on himself and his children for their products made in China?

[LauraInLA]

11. Seems like it's retaliatory against Apple if all other phone makers don't face the same requirements.

[truthisfreedom]

14. "iPhone's" as plural

Rookie mistake. He’s a reject.

[Karasu]

15. The iPhone brand is committing suicide if they're stupid enough to comply.

[JohnSJ]

16. I don't think they will. It would still be cheaper to sell the phones with trump's

tariffs than doing everything here. In addition, I suspect Apple might be able to negotiate deals on their own internationally where they could sell more iPhones overseas at a lower cost to make up for the 25% increase in iPhones here because of the tariffs.

Trump is an idiot. All his actions are doing is giving Samsung and foreign competition a leg up over apple.

It will be interesting to see if the sociopath backs off.