WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 50% tax on all imports from the European Union as well a 25% tariff on Apple products unless iPhones are made in America.
The threats, delivered over social media, reflect Trump’s ability to disrupt the global economy with a burst of typing, as well as the reality that his tariffs have yet to produce the trade deals he is seeking or the return of domestic manufacturing he has promised voters.
TheΒ Republican presidentΒ said he wants to charge higher import taxes on goods from the EU, a long-standing US ally, than from China, a geopolitical rival that had its tariffs cut to 30% this month so Washington and Beijing could hold negotiations. Trump was upset by the lack of progress in trade talks with the EU, which has proposed mutually cutting tariffs to zero even as the president has publicly insisted on preserving a baseline 10% tax on most imports.
βOur discussions with them are going nowhere!β Trump posted on Truth Social. βTherefore, 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.β
That post had been preceded by a threat of import taxes against Apple for its plans to continue making its iPhone in Asia. Apple now joins Amazon, Walmart and otherΒ major U.S. companies in the White House’s crosshairsΒ as they try to respond to the uncertainty and inflationary pressures unleashed by his tariffs.
βI have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhoneβs that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,β Trump wrote. βIf that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.β
The statement by Trump is critical in that he suggests the company itself would bear the price of tariffs, contradicting his earlier claims as he rolled out a series of aggressive tariffs over the past several months that foreign countries would shoulder the cost of the import taxes. In general, importers pay the tariffs and the costs are often passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices.
In response to Trumpβs tariffs on China, Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this month that most iPhones sold in the U.S. during the current fiscal quarter would come from India, with iPads and other devices being imported from Vietnam. After Trump rolled out tariffs in April, bank analysts estimated that a $1,200 iPhone would if made in America jump in price anywhere from $1,500 to $3,500.
