President Donald Trump really wants Apple to make iPhones in the United States.
Apple attempted to get around the tariffs on goods made in China by moving much of its iPhone manufacturing to India. However, that doesn't appear to be good enough for the President, as he said he would impose "a Tariff of at least 25%" on iPhones made outside of the country.
"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 wrote on his Truth Social platform (typos included). "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!"
Trump recently posted that he "had a little problem with Tim Cook," in response to the Cupertino-based company moving production to India instead of the U.S.
Currently, goods made in India are subject to the 10% import tariff that applies to all countries. This is substantially lower than the 30% tax applied to goods from China.
Presumably, if Trump imposes a 25% additional tariff on iPhones imported to the U.S., it would be on top of the 10% already there. He said, "at least," which means the fee to import iPhones could be even higher.
There's a lot of uncertainty for Apple about importing iPhones to the U.S. While it might be unrealistic to move all production stateside, it may also be the only way Apple can avoid massive fees — fees that will inevitably be passed onto consumers looking for one of the best iPhones.
