Apple stock drops after Trump's tariff threat
Apple’s stock declined sharply on Friday after President Donald Trump suggested imposing a 25% tariff on iPhones sold in the U.S. that are manufactured abroad.
Apple shares were down 3.7% in premarket trading, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
“I have long ago informed [CEO] 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 said in a post on social-media platform Truth Social early on Friday.
“If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.,” the president wrote.
Apple is increasing production of iPhones in India in a bid to diversify its production in response to the tariffs Trump has imposed on China, previously the main hub for the company’s smartphone production. Trump has publicly criticized the move, saying he had “a little problem” with Apple CEO Cook and calling on the company to build in the U.S. instead.
The threatened 25% tariff is still likely to be considerably less than the cost of producing ‘made in USA’ devices. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives has estimated that making an iPhone in the U.S. would probably lead to a retail price of around $3,500 compared with around $1,000 currently, and it would take years to build the necessary production capacity.
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