As part of his America-first agenda, President Donald Trump is threatening a 25 percent tariff on Apple iPhones not made in the United States. In a move that underscores his longstanding commitment to putting American manufacturing first, Trump is signaling to tech giants that it's time to bring jobs back to the U.S.
On Friday, Trump ramped up pressure on companies that manufacture their products outside of the U.S., first targeting Apple. The production of Apple’s flagship phone takes place in China, but the company has been gradually shifting manufacturing to India, partly because that country has a more favorable trade relationship with the U.S. However, Trump warned that unless Apple relocates its manufacturing to the United States, he will impose a tariff on it.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Apple’s stock dropped around three percent in premarket trading following the tariff threat. Analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush estimated that if iPhones were made in the U.S., the cost of an iPhone could soar to around $3,500—more than triple the current price of the iPhone 16 Pro, which sells for about $1,000.
Apple CEO Tim Cook met with former President Trump at the White House on Tuesday, where Trump voiced his dissatisfaction with Apple’s decision to produce iPhones in India.
“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. He is building all over India. I don’t want you building in India,” Trump said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that the issue with Apple might be tied to the Trump administration’s broader effort to revive “precision manufacturing” in the United States.
“A large part of Apple’s components are in semiconductors. So we would like to have Apple help us make the semiconductor supply chain more secure,” Bessent said in an interview on Friday.
In its May 1 earnings report, Apple said it expects $900 million in additional costs for tariffs in the current quarter. Cook said that the tariff outlook was “very difficult to predict” past June.
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