Donald Trump says he wants to introduce “a straight 50% tariff” on goods from the European Union — and a 25% import tax on some iPhone sales.
The US President later clarified that his threat to impose tariffs on smartphones made outside the United States applies to all manufacturers, not just Apple.
Mr Trump escalated his trade threats on Friday, sparking fresh global market turbulence after weeks of de-escalation.
He threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Apple for any iPhones sold, but not manufactured, in the US.
The Republican also said he would recommend a 50% tariff on the EU to begin on June 1, which would result in stiff levies on luxury items, pharmaceuticals and other goods produced by European manufacturers.
Markets dropped on the news. S&P 500 futures lost 1.5% in premarket activity and the Eurostoxx 600 fell 2%.
Apple shares fell 3.5% in premarket trading, along with shares of other technology bellwethers.
Mr Trump did not give a time frame for his warning to Apple.
"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," Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US."
Asked in the Oval Office whether he has the power to tariff a single company, Mr Trump said: "It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product, otherwise it wouldn't be fair
"So anybody that makes that product, and that'll start on, I guess, the end of June."
The White House has been in negotiations with numerous countries over trade issues, but progress has been unsteady.
Mr Trump's aggressive tariffs in April, which would have raised the rate consumers and businesses would have to pay for imported goods by roughly 25%, sparked a selloff in US assets, including stocks, the dollar and Treasury bonds. Markets have since rebounded.
It is not clear if Trump can levy a tariff on an individual company. Apple did not immediately respond to comment.
After Trump's levies on China rose to more than 100% in early April, the White House backed off due to market turmoil, granting exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones and some other electronics imported largely from China, in a break for Apple and other tech firms that rely on imported products.
Apple aims to make most of its iPhones sold in the US at factories in India by the end of 2026.
The Big Tech giant is speeding up those plans to navigate potentially higher tariffs in China, its main manufacturing base, a source told Reuters.
Apple is positioning India as an alternative manufacturing base amid Mr Trump's tariffs on China that have raised supply-chain concerns and fears of higher iPhone prices.
The iPhone maker said most of its smartphones sold in the United States would originate from India in the June quarter.
A 10% duty remains in place on most goods from the United Kingdom.
But the US has agreed to reduce import taxes on a set number of British cars and allow some steel and aluminium into the country tariff-free, as part of a trade deal between the US and UK agreed earlier this month.
