Apple stocks sink after Trump threatens 25 percent tariffs unless they build iPhones in America
Apple shares sank following President Donald Trump’s threat to slap the company with a hefty 25 percent tariff on all products unless iPhones are made in the U.S.
The tech giant saw shares fall 3.5 percent in futures but it bounced back 2.8 percent in early trading following the president’s threat against the company in a Truth Social post Friday morning.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s [sic] that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” he said. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.”
Wall Street tech analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush said Trump’s proposal to manufacture iPhones in the U.S. was a “fairy tale.”
The analyst estimated it would take between 5 to 10 years and raise the price of an iPhone to $3,500. “[It’s] not realistic in our view,” Ives said.
Barton Crockett, a senior analyst with Rosenblatt Securities, told CNBC’s Squawk Box that Trump is “asking for the impossible.”
Cook, Apple’s CEO, said the company was looking to move iPhone manufacturing from China to India following the president’s tariff war with the world’s second-largest economy, which has not gone down well with Trump.
He called Cook out during last week’s trip to the Middle East. “I had a little problem with Tim Cook,” Trump said in Qatar. “I said to him, ‘Tim, you’re my friend. I treated you very good. You’re coming in with $500 billion.’ But now I hear you’re building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.’”
Trump also threatened a 50 percent tax on all imports from the European Union and claimed the organization’s “primary purpose” has been “taking advantage of the United States.”
“Our discussions with them are going nowhere!” he fumed on Truth Social Friday. “Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States.”
