Donald Trump is once again turning up the heat on Apple, threatening a 25% tariff on iPhones unless the company brings production back to U.S. soil. His bold demand? If you're selling iPhones in America, they better be made in America.
In a no-nonsense post on Truth Social, the former president took a direct shot at the tech giant, saying, “I told Tim Cook a long time ago—I expect any iPhones sold in the United States to be manufactured here, not in India or anywhere else. If that doesn't happen, Apple will have to pay a 25% tariff.”
The impact was immediate. Apple’s shares slid 2.6%, shaving around $70 billion (£52 billion) off the company’s market value and dragging it below the $3 trillion line.
But Trump wasn’t just focused on Apple. During a chat with reporters at the White House, he warned that the same 25% tariff would hit Samsung and any other smartphone maker that isn’t producing devices in the United States. His message was loud and clear: "Build your phones here or pay the price."
“If they set up factories in America, there won’t be any tariffs,” Trump said. “So guess what? They’re going to start building plants here.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has shaken up the tech world with his tough trade talk. Just last month, he ramped up tariffs on Chinese imports, with the total hitting a jaw-dropping 145%. While smartphones and computers were temporarily exempt, the move sent a clear signal: the trade war is back on.
In response to these growing pressures, Apple has reportedly started shifting its iPhone assembly for the U.S. market to India, hoping to sidestep the fallout from Trump’s latest tariff threats. But that move has only added fuel to the fire.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, recently confirmed that most of the iPhones sold in the U.S. this quarter will be “Made in India.” While Apple keeps its supply chain details under wraps, industry analysts estimate that about 90% of iPhones are still assembled in China.
For Trump, this isn’t just a business issue—it’s about national pride and economic independence. He’s been vocal in his frustration with Apple’s overseas operations.
“I had a little talk with Tim,” Trump said. “I told him—‘We’ve supported you while you built plants all over China. Now it’s time to build for us. We’re not interested in you shifting to India—they can take care of themselves. We want those iPhones built right here, in the USA.’”
But pulling off that shift would be far from easy. Analysts have warned that moving production to the United States would come with serious challenges—from the lack of a skilled manufacturing workforce to limited infrastructure. According to Wedbush Securities, producing iPhones domestically would likely triple the cost, pushing the retail price of an American-made iPhone to around $3,500.
That price tag could make iPhones too expensive for many consumers—and would likely hurt Apple’s competitive edge in a market where price matters just as much as performance.
Still, Trump isn’t backing down. He’s positioning this as a push to bring back American manufacturing and reclaim control over industries that have long depended on overseas production.
Whether Apple caves to the pressure—or continues to hedge its bets with production in India and China—remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the fight over where your next iPhone is built is far from over.