Trump threatens Apple with a 25% tariff unless it makes it phones in the US
US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened Apple with a 25% tariff unless it manufactures iPhones in the United States.
“I told Tim Cook a long time ago that I expect iPhones to be made in the United States, not in India or anywhere else,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“If they aren’t made, Apple will have to pay at least a 25% tariff to the United States”.
Trump’s sweeping tariffs on major US trading partners have wreaked havoc on global trade and markets.
His comments on Friday are consistent with those he made last week during his visit to Qatar, when he urged Apple to move iPhone manufacturing to the United States.
“I had a little problem with Tim Cook,” Trump said on May 15.
Trump confirmed that he told Apple’s CEO, “We’re not interested in you manufacturing in India… We want you to manufacture here, and they’ll increase their production in the United States”.
During the company’s first-quarter earnings presentation in early May, Cook said he expected India to be the country of origin for the majority of iPhones sold in the United States.
He warned of the unclear impact of the 145% US tariff on goods imported from China, despite a temporary exemption for high-tech goods such as smartphones and computers.
While fully assembled smartphones are exempt from Trump’s tariffs, not all components that go into Apple devices are exempt.
Apple expects the cost of US tariffs to reach $900 million in the current quarter, although their impact was limited at the beginning of the year, according to Cook.
