President Trump's Import Tariffs Could Cause iPhone Prices to Skyrocket

President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported goods may cause the price of Apple products, such as iPhones, to skyrocket.

Earlier this week, President Trump announced he would impose several tariffs on various countries worldwide that could significantly affect the global trade market. According to the Los Angeles Times, a baseline 10% tariff will be implemented on imports in addition to tariffs of 34% on China, 46% on Vietnam, and 26% on India.

Consumer goods are expected to be significantly affected by Trump's tariffs, including iPhones, which Apple makes by teaming up with production factories in China. The cost of making these products would be even more expensive, leaving companies with a decision to make. Apple could take on the cost themselves or put the expense on their consumers by raising the prices of the company's various iPhone models.

An article published by Reuters stated the least expensive iPhone 16 model had a price tag of $799, but Trump's tariffs can raise the price to as high as $1,142. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, which retails at $1599, could cost nearly $2,300 if Apple had consumers deal with the price hike.

Apple said in an annual report that all its manufacturing happens in countries throughout Asia, especially mainland China, which has engineers that can meet the high-quality specifications for the company's products. Engineers in the United States are not that efficient, but Apple said back in February that it would invest $500 billion in opening a manufacturing facility in Houston.

"It's really that level of manufacturing expertise that Apple developed over many years that makes it very difficult for Apple to give up on China and for the U.S. to find the skilled workers really needed in the United States to meet their needs," said Eric Harwit, professor of Asian studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

According to Daniel Ives, a managing director at Wedbush Securities, Apple would need three years and $30 billion to move only 10 percent of its supply chain from Asia to the United States, which would lead to the price tag of Apple products going up.

"The chances that Apple and the overall tech supply chain moves to the U.S. is a fantasy, fictional tale, unless you like $3,500 iPhones, $2,500 TVs and $300 AirPods," said Ives.

The White House has defended Trump's tariffs by claiming it will bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. Trump stated in his executive order that using foreign producers can hurt economic security by "rendering U.S. supply chains vulnerable to geopolitical disruption and supply shocks."