Apple could be hit with tariffs for importing its devices to the US after all, as Donald Trump pivoted towards another solution – negotiating with each country and company during the 90-day pause.
Apple would be most affected by tariffs on goods imported from China, India, and Vietnam, where iPhones, iPads and other accessories are mostly made.
In practice, the US President has proven that his decisions on tariffs are rarely final, which only brings uncertainty to Cupertino.
Donald Trump set a 90-day pause on the global tariffs he imposed, which now stand at 145% for products imported from China. They are currently at 10% until a deal is reached, but given the fluidity of the President’s decision, no one is sure what is going on anymore.
According to officials from the Trump office, there have been over 90 countries trying to find a deal with the United States, but the number changed to 15 a few days later. The President himself said:
In the end, I think what’s going to happen is, we’re going to have great deals, and by the way, if we don’t have a deal with a company or a country, we’re going to set the tariff
Apple is one of the most heavily affected companies by the “Liberation Day” tariffs, as all its devices are assembled outside the United States. One-third of iPhones are shipped from India, which faced a 26% “discounted” tariff, while Vietnam, where iPads and AirPods are mostly made, would incur a 46% tariff.
The iPhones are made with chips from Taiwan, displays from South Korea and camera components from Japan – even if all the production moved to the United States, it would still be costly for Cupertino.