Trump threatens new tariffs on Apple, Samsung and the EU

U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that new tariffs could be imposed on Apple Inc. devices and products made in the European Union.

Trump detailed the potential duties in two Truth Social posts published today. Apple and EU companies could face tariffs of at least 25% and 50%, respectively. Trump later added that the duties imposed on Apple could also be extended to Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and other smartphone makers.

“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 in the first post. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.”

Apple currently relies on factories in China to make most of the more than 60 million iPhones that U.S. consumers buy annually. Earlier this month, Cook stated that the company eventually plans to produce the majority of those devices in India. Several key Apple suppliers including Hai Precision Industry Co., better known as Foxconn, are adding manufacturing capacity in India to support the initiative.

Market observers have pointed out that shifting iPhone production to the U.S. would be highly challenging. In April, Wedbush Securities Inc. estimated that a domestically made iPhone could cost as much as $3,500. Additionally, Apple would likely take a significant amount of time to establish the necessary supply chain in the U.S.

The company already relies on U.S. suppliers to produce many key device components, notably chips. Following Apple’s most recent earnings report, Cook disclosed that it expects to source more than 19 billion chips from a dozen states this year. Tens of millions of those chips will be made at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s fab complex in Arizona.

Last year, one of the TSMC plants in the state started producing Apple’s A16 Bionic system-on-chip. The processor debuted in 2022 with that year’s iPhone lineup. Apple’s smartphones also include dozens of other chips that perform simpler tasks such as managing the display.

Apple shares declined more than 2.9% on the tariff announcement.

In a separate Truth Social post, Trump signaled that he will move to impose a 50% tariff on EU goods next month. He cited difficulties in trade deal negotiations as the reason. “Our discussions with them are going nowhere!” Trump wrote. “Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025.”

The Trump administration imposed a blanket 20% tariff on EU goods in early April and later halved it for 90 days. Additionally, the bloc faces 25% duties on steel, aluminum and cars.

According to the Financial Times, the EU has offered to scrap duties on industrial goods and certain agricultural products if the U.S. does the same. The Trump administration, in turn, is believed to have presented the bloc with its “standard terms” for a trade agreement. Administration officials reportedly asked the EU to decrease regulation, make it easier for U.S. companies to invest in the bloc and implement a number of other changes. 

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