Want a U.S.-made iPhone? It'll cost ya
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President Trump's threat to Apple — build the iPhone for Americans in America, or else pay a new 25% tariff — risks massively increasing the price you pay for your phone, one way or another.
Why it matters: No one wants to pay two or three times more for a smartphone, and Apple experts doubt that a transition to U.S. manufacturing is even possible without years of investment and planning.
Reality check: Just because Trump makes a threat on Truth Social doesn't mean it'll happen.
- There are legal questions about whether a president can unilaterally tariff a single company's products if the company doesn't make that product where he wants.
Yes, but: The threat's enough to scare investors into selling Apple shares, and to scare consumers into panic-buying a "cheaper" phone now, just to be safe.
- Ahead of Trump's original sweeping global tariffs in early April, Apple reportedly airlifted 600 tons of iPhones to the U.S., amid reports of spiking demand.
- Nonetheless, Apple shares fell 2% Friday morning and are down more than 21% this year, having been a regular punching bag for Trump despite CEO Tim Cook's public support for the president.
By the numbers: There's no easy way to estimate precisely what it would cost to manufacture an iPhone in America, or what the consumer would eventually pay.
- But one oft-quoted analyst has said the price would necessarily have to be double or triple what people pay today.
- "For U.S. consumers, the reality of a $1000 iPhone being one of the best-made consumer products on the planet would disappear," Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote earlier this year.
- He suggested making iPhones in "New Jersey, or Texas, or another state" would boost their price tag to $3,500 instead.
Zoom out: Apple has made most of its iPhones in China for 15 years not only because labor costs are lower but because the labor supply is vast and flexible.
- Apple is slowly transitioning its complex supply chain to build more of its devices in other countries, including India, Vietnam and the U.S., but these changes take years.
The bottom line: There's a now-cliche line about taking Trump seriously, but not literally, when he makes public demands and threats.
- The market's taking him seriously on this one.
Go deeper: Trump tariffs shake foundations of Apple's empire
